The Altered Mind Job
by gibbsrossi
Summary: An obsessed man from Sophie's past who is still in love with her decides to win her back. He goes about it in a very sick and twisted way by making her destroy her own team and kill the man she loves in order for her to find her way back into his arms. Teamfic and usual N/S.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"She is almost ready." The doctor said to the man standing in the shadows of the room. "The conditioning is almost complete. She has a very strong mind and her feelings for the man are very strong as well. I am sure however you will be pleased with the result."

"I expect to be doctor. Make sure she is ready by the end of the week." The man said his voice hard and cold.

The doctor did not respond. He did not like the man or his attitude. The fact is though he was in the man's debt. He had got him out of the institution he was incarcerated in and had given him leeway to continue with his 'work'. In return he had agreed to facilitate the reconditioning of the woman. He checked the program that was currently running and smiled at the woman as her body jerked and shook in response to the images and the audio he was feeding through to her. She was reacting in just the way he wanted. The next step was to create the illusion which was going to be a little more difficult than the programming he had inserted into her brain for her to do the job the man wanted her to do. The hardest part of the programming was getting her to perform the job despite her feelings for the man in question. He had to completely eradicate any form of self-awareness in the woman, he had to create a robot who would do exactly what she was programmed to no matter what else happened, or what her conscious mind was screaming at her.

When the doctor had left the room, the man from the shadows re-entered. He walked up to the bed of the woman and lifted her hand and kissed it gently.

"I could never hurt you Letitia, you have always held my heart. Ever since the first time I saw you I knew you belonged to me. I told you that once. Then you tricked me, you told me you loved me, needed me, then you left without a word. But I have never forgotten you my sweet darling, I know you were young and you did not understand me. But my love, after all these years, after all you have done I still love you. He is holding you from me you need to rid yourself of him, so he must die. He must die by your hand and I will make it happen. You must be lost my love you must feel the pain I felt at losing you, only then you will understand. You will be hunted by the ones you now call your friends, by his team, and I will come and find you and rescue you. Then you will be mine again." He said talking softly and lovingly to the woman.

By the end of the week the doctor had done his job. The woman was delivered back to her apartment with implanted memories of a vacation she had never taken, friends she had never visited. The doctor stood by her bed and looked down at the sleeping woman.

"You are going to perform superbly my dear. I am going to very much enjoy watching you do your worst. I always enjoy watching the fruits of my labor at work." He smiled and then left along with the four men who had been sent to assist him.

Arriving back at his employers premises he was taken back into the room that had been set up as a control room of sorts. His employer was there with his surveillance and computer specialist. The walls were lined with monitors all of them depicting the bar area of a restaurant. At the moment it was deserted as it was the early hours of the morning.

"I trust all went well doctor?" The man said turning to the doctor as he entered the room.

"All is in place. When may I expect my payment?" The doctor asked. He was done with this task and he had honored his agreement. Now he wanted his payment.

"Very soon doctor, but I believe you have something to give me first." The man said holding out his hand to the doctor. Obligingly the doctor handed over a piece of paper with a phrase written on it.

"When you use that phrase, she will do as she was programmed. She will not remember doing it though. You will not be able to use her again, once he is dead it is over. I only had enough time to program his image into her brain, I did not have enough time to make her completely yours."

"I only need her to kill him. After that she will be mine anyway." The man said a hard smile on his face. "You have done well doctor. Your payment as promised…" He said nodding to one of his men. The doctor turned to face the man expecting him to hand him a briefcase. Instead he found a man pointing a gun at him. His eyes grew wide with fear and he was about to turn to his employer and ask what was going on when he was hit by a bullet between his eyes. His employer watched as the doctor crumpled to the floor. Then he ordered his man to get rid of the body before turning to his computer specialist.

"All is in order I take it?" He asked the young man.

"It is sir…I was not able to infiltrate the back area of the restaurant where their headquarters are but as you can see…" The specialist pointed at the banks of monitors. "You can see everything that is happening in the front of the microbrewery."

"Very good…" The man said quietly. "Call me when they are gathered there all together." He said then left the room.

Now all he had to do was wait for the right moment. He had been planning this for several months ever since he had stumbled across Sophie Devereaux, that was what she called herself now, and now he was ready to proceed. He had searched for her for years. She had run away from him, disappearing completely. She had changed her name, changed her life, but he had never stopped looking and eventually he had found her. On seeing her he immediately knew he still wanted her, she had to be his. She had had no right to leave him before, she was meant for him. He was angry when he found her involved with another man. How could she betray him like that? He knew then he wanted that man dead. Nathan Ford had to die for taking his beautiful Letitia away from him. He could have had him killed, but then she would never accept him. It seemed to him that she had to suffer too for what she had done, but he could not hurt her. He also wanted her to be ready to return to him. He needed her to need him and the way he saw to do this was to isolate her. But how did he do that. She was in this team, his team. It was then that he had decided that Ford needed to die by her hand. There would be no turning back for her then. That way she would be rid of her ties to him and to his team, they would never forgive her for killing him. He researched and sought out the doctor. Then when the opportunity had presented itself he had taken her and given her to the doctor. Now she was ready. Ready to rid herself of a man who had no right to be with his woman, and by doing that to make herself vulnerable and alone, running from a group of people he was sure would want to kill her for taking the life of their leader. Yes…she would be his again. He would 'find' her and she would cling to him. He had to break her to have her, but he would have her. Yes, this was the time for him to get his beloved Letitia back. He would deal with the team when they came for her, she would thank him for saving her life and she would be tied to him even more.

He sighed and smiled to himself pouring himself a glass of expensive whiskey and sitting down behind his desk. He picked up the picture of the young smiling girl who stood beside him in the Paris countryside. Brining the picture to his lips he kissed her image softly and then put it back on the table. You will give yourself to me my love, without reservations, you will love me and I will love you. I will forgive you for what you did to Ford, just as I forgive you for what you did to me…I will save you from the retribution of his team and offer you absolution and I will accept you and you will love me for it.

"Soon my love, my Letitia, we will be together again, and this time, you will be tied to me forever."

**OK well that is the start of my new story. I hope you are all going to enjoy this one. Please let me know what you think of the first chapter. I really look forward to reading every review. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been four weeks since she had seen any of them. After their last job they had all decided that time off was required. Parker and Hardison had gone off somewhere together. Eliot had disappeared as usual and although she had wanted to go with Nate on holiday he had decided that going out to sea again was what he wanted to do. She did not want to do that so she had taken a trip to Europe, to Paris and had just relaxed and done shopping and visited old friends. It had been a good holiday and she was feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time.

She walked back into the microbrewery and into the offices in the back to find Nate already there. Parker and Hardison had not arrived back yet and she had passed Eliot in the front. He was busy preparing a meal for them, their welcome back dinner as it were. She had greeted him and asked him how his vacation was. Not that she had expected much in return, Eliot did not discuss what he did on his time off, but she suspected it was something to do with his previous life.

On seeing Nate she rushed into his arms and kissed him passionately.

"Oh, well maybe I should go to sea more often." Nate said pulling her closer and kissing her right back.

"I missed you." Sophie whispered as she rested her forehead against his.

"I missed you too. I think next vacation we go somewhere together." Nate said kissing her forehead gently before pulling away. "So what did you do?"

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that." Sophie said smiling coyly. The last time they went their separate ways she had pulled off a con. "And you, did you clear you head?" She asked him as he delivered her a glass of her favorite wine.

"Well…I got a lot of reading done." He smiled at her clinking his whiskey glass with hers.

Just then Parker and Hardison walked into the room.

"Hey Nate…Sophie…I missed you guys." Parker said bouncing over to them and hugging them tightly before sinking down on one of the overstuffed chairs in the living area.

"We missed you too Parker." Sophie smiled at the young woman. She had missed her. She had missed all of them. They were her family. Suddenly a cold feeling came over her but she shrugged it off. She had a feeling of foreboding, but she had no idea why.

"Everything alright Sophie..?" Nate asked breaking into her thoughts. He had seen her expression change to…well he could not explain it but he was sure something was wrong.

"What…oh yes…" Sophie said looking up and into his blue eyes seeing some concern there. How did he always know when she was feeling off? "Just got a funny feeling that's all…come on let's go get food, you know Eliot is not going to be happy if we are late for our 'welcome home' dinner." She said taking Nate's arm and leading him out into the bar area.

The meal was jovial and lively. Hardison expounded on his and Parker's adventures during their four week holiday and Parker added little things in here and there. The two youngest members of the team did most of the talking and the others listened and threw things in as the conversation went along. The meal finished they all sat around the table just talking about things, what the plans were, what marks were on their radar and so on. All of them were quite eager to get back to work. Sophie got up and walked over to the bar to get herself another glass of wine and to refill Nate's whiskey glass. That was when her phone rang. She answered it and listened to the voice on the other side. Her back was to the group and they could not see her face go blank as she listened to the phrase the man spoke. She moved to the other side of the bar and reached for the gun she knew they kept there for various reasons. Although Eliot did not like guns, they were always prepared for any eventuality. Then she returned to the table.

Nate looked up at her as she approached and immediately saw there was something very wrong.

"Sophie…" He said his voice full of concern.

Sophie did not reply, instead she pulled her hand away from behind her back. She was holding a gun and just as that fact registered in Nate's mind the first shot sounded. The bullet pierced him in his chest and tipped him over in his chair. Sophie moved forward and fired again and then again before Parker dived on the woman from behind and brought her to the floor. As she hit the floor the gun clattered away from her and Parker straddled her and laid a punch on her left jaw rendering her unconscious. Hardison was at Nate's side kneeling beside the Mastermind who lay unmoving, a large pool of blood spreading over the floor around him. Eliot was also at Nate's side. He left Parker to take care of Sophie. Nate had been hit twice in the chest and once in the head. The head shot had been off and there was just a deep grove where the bullet had grazed him. Blood poured from the chest wounds. Eliot took off his jacked at placed them over the wounds applying pressure to them.

"Call 911…" He said gruffly to Hardison. "Now Hardison…" He said pulling Hardison out of his stupor.

"Parker get Sophie into the back…Parker get her into the back and keep her there." He shouted at the Thief who still sat straddling the woman.

Eliot then gave all his attention to Nate. Blood was seeping from the side of his mouth which indicated damage to his lungs. He was unconscious. Eliot felt for a pulse and although there was one it was very weak, almost non-existent. Hardison returned after making the call and fell to his knees next to Nate opposite Eliot.

"The ambulance is on the way." He said looking down at the Mastermind. Nate's shirt was now drenched in blood and Hardison could feel the sticky substance on the floor that clung to his pants as he knelt beside him.

"Good…this was a robbery ok…" Eliot said looking up and into the eyes of the Hacker. He could see that he was petrified. "Hardison…"

"Yeah…yeah…" Hardison nodded. He looked down at his hands which were now covered with Nate's blood as he had applied pressure to the second wound. No matter what the two did the blood still spilled alarmingly fast from the wounds. It seemed like forever before the ambulance arrived, along with the police.

The police questioned both of them as the paramedics worked on Nate. They told the story of the robbery attempt and said that after they had shot Nate they had run away. Neither man paid much attention to the police their focus was on the man the paramedics were working on. After they had stabilized him they lifted him onto the gurney and prepared to get him to the hospital.

"Hardison you go with him…" Eliot told the Hacker. He needed to stay here and deal with the police…and with Sophie. Hardison nodded and with the permission of the police joined the paramedics and climbed into the ambulance with Nate. He sat beside the Mastermind holding his hand and telling him just to hold on. Within seconds, they were on their way to Portland General Hospital.

**Please let me know what you thought. How are the others going to deal with Sophie? Is Nate going to survive? How is Sophie going to react when she realizes that she tried to kill Nate? Thank you all for your reviews and please keep them coming.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Eliot spent the next hour or so talking to the police and going over their cover story. He was sure the police were not buying it but right then he did not care. He just wanted them out. He needed to get to the back to Sophie and Parker. Eventually the police left after the CSI team had done their thing as well. They told him that they would be back later with further questions. Eliot saw them out and then closed the doors and made his way to the back. It had now been a couple of hours since the incident and he had heard nothing from Hardison. He could only hope that the reason for that was that Nate was still holding on and Hardison had nothing to report.

He found Parker watching over Sophie who was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. He could see that the Thief was both scared and confused. Sophie looked just as scared and confused. Parker had no doubt told her what she had done. Looking at Parker again he could see the conflict on her face as she looked at the woman who had shot Nate, a woman she loved and admired.

"Nate…" Parker immediately asked as Eliot walked in.

"I don't know Parker. Hardison went with him to the hospital and as soon as he knows something he will let us know." Eliot said walking in and standing over Sophie.

"She tried to kill Nate…" Parker said softly as if she was trying to understand something that was wholly inexplicable to her.

"I know Parker, I was there…" Eliot said then immediately regretted his tone. "Sorry Parker…I don't understand it either." He said looking directly at Sophie whose face was lined with tears as she wept both for the man she had shot and the deed she had done.

Sophie looked back at Eliot her face a picture of turmoil and fear and desperation. She did not understand what had happened. Parker had told her she had tried to kill Nate but she could not believe it. She closed her eyes and tried to collect herself as the Hitter stood over her.

"Eliot…what…what happened?" She asked as she opened her eyes and stared into the eyes of the teams Hitter.

"What do you mean what happened…you tried to kill Nate." Parker said her fear turning to anger.

"No Parker…I couldn't I…?" Sophie gasped. What was Parker saying? She tried to remember what had happened, her brows knotting as she wracked her brain. Then she looked up at Eliot pleading with him to tell her it was not true.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Eliot asked her softly.

"We were having dinner…I went to get some wine…then…then nothing." Sophie said. "I tried to kill Nate…?" She whispered looking at Eliot her eyes full of fear.

"Yes you did Sophie…you shot him three times." Eliot said watching as shock registered on Sophie's face.

"Oh God…" She said as she dropped her head into her hands. "I didn't…Nate is not…"

"Dead…no he wasn't when they took him out here. Hardison is with him and will let us know." Eliot told her.

"We need to go to the hospital then…" Sophie said standing up.

Eliot grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back into the seat. "I don't think so Sophie. You are not going anywhere near Nate."

"Eliot…"

"Sophie, I don't know what happened. I don't know why you did what you did. But I am not prepared to let you anywhere near him until we do figure this out." Eliot said. Just then his phone rang and he saw the ID indicated that it was Hardison.

"Hardison…" He answered trying to keep his voice calm. Parker moved closer to him as she heard him say the Hackers name.

"Eliot…" Hardison said heavily. "He's still alive…they've taken him into surgery." Hardison said but Eliot could hear in his voice that he was distraught.

"Hardison…Alec…" Eliot said using the Hackers first name, something he never did. "What did the doctors say?"

"They…it doesn't look good Eliot…he…they lost him in the ambulance…They spent a long time trying to stabilize him in the ER before they took him to surgery, there was so much blood…the doctor…Eliot he may not…he may not make it." Hardison stuttered out. Fear gripped him as he told the Hitter they may lose Nate.

"Ok Hardison. You stay there. Parker will be over to stay with you." Eliot said. He did not want Parker around Sophie right now. He could see the anger and the fear and the confusion on the woman's face. If, God forbid, Nate did not make it, he did not want Parker in the vicinity of Sophie.

"Go Parker…I'll stay here with Sophie." Eliot said. "Parker you stay with Nate no matter what Ok…" Eliot said. He was not sure what was happening but what he was sure of is someone had tried to kill Nate using Sophie. They might try again. "Parker, be alert…somebody tried to kill Nate and they may try again…stay with him, make sure he is safe ok." Eliot said softly. "And Parker…"

"Don't worry Eliot…you'll be the first to hear." Parker said knowing what he was going to say. She picked up her keys and looked at the woman who was still sitting with her head in her hands. Eliot obviously thought Sophie was not alone in this, or she was being used or something. All she knew is that Sophie had pulled the trigger and Nate may die. She wanted to say something to Sophie but did not know what. She loved Sophie, but her ultimate loyalty was with Nate and she had tried to kill him. No matter what Sophie meant to her, she was not sure what she would do if Nate did die as a result of Sophie's actions.

"Eliot…I love him…I would never, never hurt him…let alone kill him." Sophie said to the Hitter in a small voice after Parker had left. She could not understand what had happened. "God Eliot...if he dies because…If I killed him…" Sophie said tears slipping from her eyes.

"Sophie, I don't know what is going on either, but you did shoot Nate. You did try to kill him. Now we have to figure out why." Eliot told her as he sat down next to her on the couch. He knew she would never do anything willingly to hurt Nate. He knew she loved the man and would not hesitate to give her life for his. So why had she taken a gun and put three bullets into him?

Eliot stood and made his way to the kitchen and poured them each a whiskey. Then he returned carrying both glasses and the bottle with him. He gave Sophie a glass and sat down beside her again. "We'll figure this out Sophie…" He said slowly.

Sophie did not respond. She drank down the glass and then poured herself another one. If Nate died…if she had managed to kill him...The thought was almost too much for her. She drank down the amber liquid feeling it burn her throat and then reached for the bottle again.

"Enough Sophie…you need to keep a clear head. We need to go over everything you have done over the last four weeks and we can't do that if you are drunk." Eliot said taking the bottle away from her.

"Nate could be dying…he could be dead…I could have killed him…" Sophie said her eyes blazing. This was not happening she told herself, please let this be a dream, a terrible nightmare. But looking at the Hitter she knew it was not. She had tried to kill the only man she had ever and would ever love.

"I know. But I also know you would not have done that for any reason. Sophie…you are the weapon somebody used to get to Nate…we need to figure out how they did that." Eliot told her.

"What if we can't figure it out?" Sophie asked fearfully.

"We will, we have to. Not only for you but for Nate because when they figure out you did not succeed they will probably go after Nate again." Eliot told her. "Sophie…you were programed to do this, I don't know how or by who but that is the only logical explanation."

He was not prepared to entertain any other scenario. There was no way in hell Sophie would do any harm to Nate. No way in hell. Somehow she had been programmed to do this. Eliot was no fool. He understood that there were ways that people were made to do things they would never do if they were in control of themselves. The question was simply how somebody had done that to Sophie? When had they done that to Sophie? His mind drifted to the picture of Nate's bloody body lying on the floor of their bar and he closed his eyes fighting the emotions warring within him. The injuries were bad, he had not seen much worse. It was likely that Nate would not survive. He did not know how Parker or Hardison would react to that, or how they would deal with the fact that Sophie had taken Nate's life. They must know that she would never do this if she was in her right mind. The fact though was that in the heat of the moment, anything could happen. He knew that both the Thief and the Hacker viewed Nate as a father figure. Hardison probably had the closest relationship to Nate baring Sophie. This was going to tear the team apart. And if Nate did live…He shook his head as he drank down the rest of the liquor in his glass and turned to the woman who sat silently beside him. He was not sure how Sophie would react to Nate dying by her own hand either, even if she had been programed into doing it, even if she was not responsible for her own actions. She was shaking her head slowly and tears fell from her eyes as the reality of the situation started to really dawn on her.

"Oh God Eliot, I tried to kill Nate…I…what if he dies…what if I… Oh God!" Sophie said a flood of emotions overtook her as she truly realized what was happening, and her mind was starting to overwhelm her with that fact, incapacitating her and breaking her down.

"I know Sophie…we'll figure this out…we will." Eliot said pulling the woman into his arms and allowing her to let go of her emotions as her tears grew into deep heart-wrenching sobs.

**Thank you all so much for your reviews. I am really very appreciative of all of them and look forward to reading your comments and thoughts. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Eliot sat holding the weeping woman. He wanted to tell her it was going to be ok but he couldn't. If Nate did not make it then he was not sure what was going to happen. He was absolutely without any shadow of a doubt sure that somebody had made Sophie do this. Somebody wanted Nate killed and had used Sophie as the weapon. That however would make no difference to Sophie if Nate died. She would never forgive herself. He was not sure if Parker and Hardison would ever forgive her. It would be the end of their family, of that he also had no doubt. Even if both the youngest members of the team accepted that Sophie had done what she had done under the control of another person, If Nate died…that would not matter.

"Sophie…we have to figure this out and quickly. Somebody is obviously after Nate and if we are going to protect him we have to know who." He said saying the one thing he knew would get Sophie to stop crying and pay attention.

"Oh God…do you think they will go after him again?" Sophie asked sitting up and wiping away the tears. "Eliot, this can't be happening…" She said raw emotion in her voice.

"It is Sophie, and you are the one that holds the key. We need to figure this out through you."

"How…I mean I was in Paris on vacation, I went shopping…I didn't meet with anybody, I didn't spend time with anybody…I am positive about that. I don't remember anything out of the ordinary happening." Sophie said wracking her brain to remember the events of the last four weeks during her vacation time. "I should have just gone with Nate on that damn boat." She said softly.

"Sophie…this is not your fault. You have been used. We just need to figure out by whom." Eliot told her. "You said you went to the bar for another glass of wine. You did not come back with wine…think Sophie…what happened?"

"I was getting wine for myself and some more whiskey for Nate when…" Sophie looked up at the Hitter as she remembered the phone call. "Then my phone rang." She said

"Your phone…who called what do you remember about the call?" The Hitter asked he knew she would not be able to tell him, the last piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place. The manner in which they had activated Sophie was the phone call.

"I…I…I don't remember…I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in the offices with Parker hovering over me. I don't remember…shooting Nate either." She said the last part coming out in a hushed voice.

"You wouldn't. That was how you were activated. The phone call...Where is your phone now?"

"I…I don't know, I think at the bar…it must be at the bar."

"Ok, well we need to get that to Hardison, maybe he can get something from it…what else to you remember Sophie, even the smallest thing can help. Was it a man on the phone, a woman's voice…Sophie think." Eliot urged her.

"I don't know Eliot…I just don't know…"

"Alright…alright." Eliot said giving Sophie another little tot of whiskey. "We'll figure this out Sophie, we will…"

"But how…I just don't understand. How did they know I was with Nate, how did they know I would be able to get a gun…" Sophie said shaking her head.

"I don't know Sophie, but we need to know what happened to you during the last four weeks. You need to make a detailed description of what you did in your holiday. Where you went, where you stayed, everything…Hardison can check all of it out and make sure your memories are real." Eliot said.

Sophie nodded and immediately set about her task. She sat making the list as Eliot called Hardison at the hospital.

"Hardison…any news…?" He asked the Hacker.

"No, the doctor has not been out since they took him into surgery." Hardison said softly.

"Ok…we are coming to you at the hospital can you secure us a room somewhere where we can't be disturbed?" Eliot asked.

"You're coming here…?" Hardison asked surprise plain in his voice. "With Sophie…?"

"Yeah Hardison…we have work to do. Somebody used Sophie as a trigger and we are going to figure out who that somebody is. You need to check her details from the vacation…verify she was where she said she was. She was activated using her phone, we'll be bringing that with to for you to check."

"Ok…you need to bring my stuff when you come."

Eliot nodded and then wrote down the list of things Hardison would need before hanging up.

"Eliot what are you doing…? You said I should not go near Nate…?" Sophie asked looking at the Hitter questioningly.

"And you won't, but we need Hardison to trace your steps and he isn't going to leave the hospital. Sophie…you know why I don't want you near Nate don't you."

"Because I might try again…?" Sophie said softly. She also knew about mind control. Not on such a scale but NLP techniques and hypnotism were arts she had perfected. She knew that sometimes, once a program was implanted it could not be stopped. She might try to kill Nate again if she got close to him. The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

"You don't trust me around Nate…I get it. I don't trust me around Nate. I will not go near him you have my word." Sophie said quietly looking at the Hitter with big eyes. "Like you said, we need to know who wanted Nate dead so that we can stop them…I…I won't go near him I promise."

"Ok, but Sophie…I know something about programming and if you have been programmed to kill Nate, you will try again when you get near him. So you don't Ok…" Eliot said his fear for Nate as great as his fear for Sophie.

"I won't…" Sophie said softly. _"I just hope he survives this…please let him survive this."_ She added to herself. Then she looked up at Eliot, her eyes showing her determination to keep Nate safe, even if it was from herself. "If I never can go near him again Eliot, to keep him safe, I will leave, I will go as far away as I possibly can." She said earnestly.

"I know you will Sophie, but that is not going to happen. We are going to solve this puzzle and we are going to get through this…all of us." Eliot said.

The two of them gathered what Hardison had told them he would need and then made their way into the front and picked up Sophie's phone before leaving for the hospital.

They were watched as they left the bar. He was furious. She was not being held by them. She was not being pursued by them. She had not run from them. His plan had failed. He could not understand why. He was sure they would turn on her when she killed him. That was it. He was not dead. Even whilst dying he held them together. He had to die to be gone, out of their lives, out of her life…that was the only way. His obsession was slowly turning from his need and desire for Letitia the woman he had loved all those years to a burning desire to see Nathan Ford dead. He was sure that was the only way she would be his. Well if Nate Ford survived the surgery he would not survive his men.

"Make sure Ford never leaves that hospital alive." He growled at his enforcer. "Do not harm her…and no mistakes…or you will die in his place." He added then with an angry snarl left the room and retreated into his study.

**Thanks again for taking the time and effort to leave your reviews, each and every one is greatly appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Sorry for any confusion caused by the incorrect numbering of the previous chapter, the number has been rectified.**

They arrived at the waiting area that Parker and Hardison had been sent to. They found the two sitting side by side staring at the door through which they had taken Nate into surgery. Neither one even noticed their arrival.

"Hardison…" Eliot said as they approached causing the Hacker to jump slightly at the sound of his name.

"Eliot…"Hardison said looking at the Hitter and studiously avoiding eye contact with Sophie.

"You get us a room?" Eliot asked noticing the lack of greeting to Sophie and the fact that neither the Hacker nor the Thief would even look at her.

"Yeah…but I ain't going anywhere Eliot…not until I know what's going on with Nate." Hardison said his tone telling Eliot that he was not going to be argued with.

"So we wait…" Eliot said taking a seat and pulling Sophie down with him. She did not resist and simply sat sinking into the chair, her eyes staring forward.

The hours dragged by and nobody said anything. The atmosphere was tense and heavy with fear and anxiety and unsaid words. Eventually the doctor made his appearance. He looked tired and drawn as he approached them. Eliot, Parker and Hardison stood as he stopped before them. Sophie sat as if glued to her chair.

"He made it through surgery." The doctor said and saw the relief in all of them. "One of the bullets lodged in his lung causing severe internal haemorrhaging. The other one bounced off a rib then lodged near his heart. We removed both bullets and have repaired the damage as best as we could. The damage though was very extensive and he has lost a lot of blood. It was touch and go during the surgery but he pulled through. We have him on a ventilator to assist with his breathing; we will keep him on that until the lung has had a chance to heal. We have also placed him in a chemically induced coma, which we will keep him in for the next forty eight hours when we will reassess the situation." The doctor continued.

"What are his chances doc…?" Eliot asked the question on all of their minds.

The doctor looked at the man and then took in the other three people with him. He sighed heavily, he did not like this part but it was best that he was honest and not give false hope.

"If he has any relatives…I would suggest you call them." He said. The implication was clear. Nate might not make it; in fact, the doctor was not really expecting him to. They only told you to get the patients relatives or next of kin when there was a real chance of the patient dying. "I will get the nurse to take you to see him once he is settled in ICU. You will not be able to go into his room, but you can see him through the glass." He told them and then turned to leave.

"He doesn't think Nate's going to make it." Hardison said softly almost to himself as he watched the departing doctor.

"Nate's strong…he'll make it." Eliot said looking at Sophie and talking to her more than the other two. She did not respond. She sat still and stared after the doctor digesting his words. She had done this. She had put two bullets into Nate's chest and now he could die…she had killed him.

They sat down again in silence again. After about a half hour later the promised nurse came and told them that they could all follow her to Nate's room.

"Go ahead…" Eliot said to the two youngest members of the team. "I'll see him after."

Parker and Hardison both nodded. Eliot was obviously not going to let Sophie see Nate. They followed the nurse down the hall and disappeared around the corner leaving Eliot and Sophie to stare after them.

Nate was lying in a room with glass walls. There were monitors all around his bed giving out readings on his condition. The heart monitor beat a slow but regular rhythm and the whoosh of the ventilator added to the cacophony of noises. Tubes ran in and out of him. His pallor was pale, almost as white as the sheets he that covered him. Parker stared through the glass and for the first time since it had happened she felt the prick of tears. Seeing Nate made it all too real, and seeing him like this brought home the fact that he may not make it. He looked so weak, and small and vulnerable.

"I am afraid I cannot let you into the room…" The nurse said as they stopped in front of the glass separating them from Nate. "Infection is one of his greatest enemies right now and we would prefer to keep him sterile as much as possible." She said in explanation. "You can stay here though as long as you wish" She finished and then left the two to stand staring at Nate through the glass pane.

"Please don't die Nate…" Parker whispered putting her hand onto the glass partition and letting the tears finally fall.

Hardison put his arm around her and fought back his own tears. He had to be strong for the little Thief; he would be strong for her.

"Why did Sophie do this…?" Parker suddenly asked after they had been standing there for a long while. "Why did she do this?" Parker repeated. She just could not reconcile the fact that Sophie would shoot Nate…that the woman she loved, respected, and admired would try to kill the one man who meant more to her than any other, even more than Hardison.

"I don't know Parker." Hardison whispered. He was just as much at a loss as Parker was. He was just as scared too.

"I thought she loved him…"

"She does Parker."

"How could she, how could she love him and do this to him. She's a Grifter, how do we know anything of the last five years is true? How do we know…she…she shot him Hardison…she shot him."

"Parker…Eliot thinks that Sophie was brainwashed into doing this." Hardison said. He would not, could not believe that Sophie had done this of her own free will.

"I don't care Hardison…even if they brainwashed me I would never do this to you or Nate or…Sophie is one of the strongest willed women I know…how could she allow herself to be brainwashed into killing Nate. She could have fought it, she could have stopped herself…she could have…If she really loved him she could have…" Parker said vehemently.

"Sometimes it's just not possible to stop yourself…" Hardison said.

"So you think Eliot's right…that Sophie did not know what she was doing…?"

"It seems like the only thing that could explain…this…" Hardison said looking at Nate again.

"If he dies…if he dies Hardison…what are we going to do?" Parker asked almost plaintively. It was a question Hardison could not answer so he did not even try, he simply wrapped his arms around her and held her too him.

"Let's get back…Eliot is also going to want to see Nate and Sophie…"

"Yeah ok…" Parker said knowing that Hardison meant that Sophie could not be left alone. She turned back to the window and placed her hand on the glass, silently begging Nate to just pull through, he had to live…he had to.

They found Eliot and Sophie sitting together as they were when they had left. Sophie eyes were red rimmed with the tears she had shed and Eliot looked stoic.

"We'll wait with Sophie…" Hardison said as they approached.

Eliot hesitated before standing. He really wanted to see Nate. No he needed to see Nate, but he was not sure he should leave Sophie in the care of Parker. Hardison he was not worried about but the Thief was still emitting hostility towards the Grifter and things could get out of hand very quickly.

"Ok…I'll be back soon." He said his look telling Hardison to keep Sophie and Parker apart from each other. The Hacker nodded acknowledgement and watched as Eliot walked away.

"Why did you do it?" Parker asked softly looking directly at Sophie for the first time.

"I don't know Parker…I just don't know." Sophie replied honestly. She looked up into the blue eyes of her Thief, the girl she had come to love dearly.

Parker did not respond. She was not sure what she expected Sophie to say. Something, something to defend her actions maybe…then she realised that there was nothing she could say to defend herself and what she had done. She had shot Nate, whatever the reason was, she had shot the man and he may die.

"You don't just shoot somebody you love Sophie…no matter what…you don't just try to kill them…" Parker said her voice growing hard again.

This time Sophie remained silent. Parker was right, no matter what her sub-conscious should have told her not to do it. Surely, her love for Nate should have at least caused her to hesitate. However, she had not, she had simply shot him down and if what Eliot said were true, she would have kept on firing if Parker had not tackled her. What did that say about her? What did that say about her feelings for Nate? Her mind told her that if Eliot was right and she had been under the control of some other force, she would not have been able to stop herself. Her heart told her that no matter what, she should not have been able to do what she had done…she should have turned the gun on herself rather than shoot Nate…she should have been able to resist, her love for him should have been strong enough to stop her from doing what she did.

Eliot returned to find the atmosphere even more chilled than before. At least they had not gone at each other, he thought to himself. Briefly, he wondered if Parker would ever believe that Sophie could not have prevented this from happening, even if they prove that she had been used, controlled by some unknown person. Sophie sat looking even more subdued than before where he had left her and Parker and Hardison sat on the opposite side of the room.

"Hardison the room…?" Eliot asked.

"Right…this way…" Hardison said standing up and moving towards another corridor.

"Good…Parker…go stay with Nate." Eliot instructed the Thief. Nate needed somebody to watch him in case whoever had done this tried again and he wanted to keep Parker and Sophie separate for the time being so he could kill two birds with one stone. "Keep the ear bud in Parker." He added as Hardison handed her one.

Parker did not argue, she nodded and disappeared off to the ICU putting the ear bud in as she left. The other three made their way into the room Hardison had procured for them and waited while Hardison set up his computers.

"Ok…Eliot what now?" Hardison said once all the equipment was set up and in place.

"Sophie made a list of all the places she went during the four week period. We need you to verify that she was in fact there." Eliot told him. He moved so that he was standing behind the Hacker along with Sophie as he started working.

"Ok well you did go to Paris and you were booked in there." Hardison worked on ignoring the anxious bodies standing behind him. It seemed to take forever for him to verify but after about half an hour of working through surveillance and other information, he finally looked at the Grifter and told her what she had been dreading to hear, and hoping to hear at the same time.

"But for the last two weeks, you did nothing of what you said. I can't find any record of your visiting any of these places, and every surveillance I hacked into I can't pick you up." Hardison said his voice was full of relief rather than concern though. Eliot was right; somebody had taken Sophie and made her do what she had done. Not that he had doubted it but still, now they had proof.

"So they took Sophie and programmed her to kill Nate…?" Parker voice came over the coms.

"Yes Parker that is exactly what happened." Eliot said softly.

"So what are we going to do now?" Hardison asked.

"Ok…what is the last verified movement you have?" Eliot asked.

"Well here she is leaving the hotel…she gets into the cab outside and then…well that is the last. I do not know how you got back into the hotel, but I have you leaving on the day you were supposed to check out. No record of you ever coming back to it though after you left that day."

"What day was that?" Sophie asked leaning in to watch herself on the surveillance cameras to check the date. "Oh, I was going to the Louvre that day." She said standing up and wracking her brain to remember what had happened.

"Well you never got there…there is no video surveillance of you arriving at all."

"So that's where they got to you Sophie…" Eliot said. "Hardison…what can you tell me about the cab?"

Hardison zoomed in on the vehicle in question. The driver was a male, with black hair and a moustache. He printed out the image and then moved on to the number plate and any other distinguishing marks he could find. He gave the information to Eliot and then looked at the Hitter questioningly.

"What now…?" Hardison asked not sure what they were going to now.

"Now we find this guy…" Eliot said holding up the picture of the cab driver.

"Well I can tell you there is no record of him working for the cab company." Hardison said as he finished his facial recognition scan of employees of the cab company in question.

"I didn't think so…he was part of the set up." Eliot said. "Hardison run his face against all our known ex-marks and their guys, see if he pops."

"On it…" Hardison said getting back to his computers.

"Eliot…what if..." Parker said then stopped and drew a breath before continuing. "What if Nate was not the only one she was programmed to…you know?"

"You mean one of us?" Hardison asked looking up at the Hitter and then the Grifter who stood beside him.

Eliot shook his head. "I don't think so. They did not have her for that long and I don't think they would have had time to do a complete workup on her."

"But they could have." Parker insisted.

"Yes…" Eliot conceded.

"Then we can't take the chance…" Sophie suddenly said her voice firm. "I can't be anywhere near any of you. I won't take that chance."

"I will." Eliot said looking at the Grifter. "Look Sophie, no matter what Nate would not want you out there alone with some madman in control of you, no you and I are going to stay together."

"Yeah Sophie…we are a T…Family and we stay together no matter what." Hardison said although his voice was a little shaky as he said it. The thought that Sophie could turn on one of them like she had Nate scared him, but his loyalty to Sophie and his team outweighed his fears.

"Nate is lying in a hospital room and could be…could be dying Eliot, because of me. I WILL NOT be responsible for any one of you ending up in the same position, or worse." Sophie said adamantly.

"Listen to me Sophie…he has to activate you, even if you were programmed to kill us, he has to activate you. You would have tried already if he had. I think that you were only meant to take Nate out. He is the target and you are the gun. Now he could have put us on that list too, but I doubt it. To be sure we just make sure that he doesn't get a chance to set you in motion again." Eliot told her.

"And how do we do that?" Parker asked.

"Well…last time he used Sophie's phone right." Eliot said.

"Yeah…used a burner phone to call her, couldn't track it at all." Hardison said.

"Right, so he needs to speak to her to make this work. Well…" Eliot turned to Sophie. "No phones, no talking to strangers, no contact with anybody outside of this team, we'll be careful." Eliot said determined not to let Sophie run off on her own.

"Eliot…if I was responsible for…"

"Stop right there Sophie and let's get this straight. YOU are not responsible for any of this and WE are going to find out who the hell is and make them pay." Eliot said forcefully. "Got it?"

Sophie just stared at him. She heard Hardison's agreement and after a short pause, she heard Parker's too.

"Right. For now there is nothing more we can do until Hardison comes up with something for us. Parker you stay with Nate. He doesn't leave your sight, not for any reason…understand?" Eliot told their Thief.

"You think somebody is going to come after him again?" Hardison asked fear creeping into his voice again.

"Don't know but I'm not willing to take that chance. They were after Nate. Whoever they are, they wanted him dead. Their plan to use Sophie didn't succeed and they may try again, using other means." He told the Hacker.

Sophie was about to say something when Parkers voice came over the cons and what she was saying sent them all sprinting for the ICU.

**Oh a small cliff hanger **** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please let me know. I appreciate all the time and effort taken by you guys to leave your reviews and each and every one is greatly appreciated by me.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Parker stood outside Nate's room watching and listened to the conversation taking place between Hardison and Eliot. She noticed the nurses going in and out of the room checking on various machines and making notes in the Masterminds charts. Then a doctor entered the room and leaning over Nate and said something to him and then took out a syringe from his pocket. It took a second for Parker to process that information and then she was racing into the room.

"Help…somebody help…Eliot…help now…" Parker screamed out as she made to stop the man from touching Nate.

He managed to get the syringe into the IV drip before she got to him but as she reached him she pulled out the drip, causing alarms to go off, the unknown assailant then pushed Parker into one of the banks of machinery and this in turn caused more alarms to go off. The tube which had been connected to Nate's breathing tube had been disconnected in the struggle and Parker could see him struggling to breathe without the assistance of the ventilator. The medical personnel were quick to respond to the alarms and the assailant used them as cover to get away from Parker. Parker wanted to follow but was blocked by the doctors and nurses which had descended on Nate. She turned back to the Mastermind; she could see his arm was covered in blood where she had yanked the IV out. Nate's heart rate had soared and she could see the doctor was trying to reconnect the tube as Nate struggled for breath.

"I think you should leave young lady." The doctor said looking at Parker. She did not argue and left the room to stand outside watching through the window again. Then the blinds on the widow were dropped and she could not see anything of the activity in the room.

"What the hell Parker?" Eliot asked coming to a dead halt unable to see what was happening inside Nate's room.

"There was a man here dressed as a doctor. He tried to inject something into Nate's IV…" Parker turned to the Hitter and he saw the absolute fear on her face.

"Shit...Did he get to Nate?"

"I think I stopped him from injecting whatever it was…I pulled the IV out. Then he knocked me into the ventilator and…and Nate couldn't breathe the doctors rushed in and then…he was gone…" Parker said spilling the whole story out quickly. "I'm sorry…I couldn't stop him getting away."

"Perhaps you could tell me what happened here." The doctor said interrupting the conversation as he left Nate's room and approached the group.

"I don't know doctor…but we are going to need to have security for him from now on. We need to know what doctors are going to be going in and out, as well as nurses." Eliot said.

"Yes…well I think we should also call the police." The doctor replied seriously.

"We can protect him doctor…" Eliot said not really wanting the police involved and hoping the doctor would not insist. "I think it is the same guys who tried to rob out place and shot him in the first place. The police can't do anything we can't do." He said in his most convincing voice.

"You see we are a security company, we can take care of our own." Sophie said stepping in. After about five minutes she had the doctor eating out of her hand and all of Eliot's requests where agreed to along with no police.

Once the doctor had left Sophie turned to the Hitter. "Now what…"

"Now we protect Nate and we find out who the hell is doing this and kill him." Eliot hissed his voice deadly with menace.

"Yeah…" Parker agreed her tone just as deadly.

"Ok…but how?" Hardison asked practically. He would usually not go along with a plan of killing anybody, but he was willing to make an exception in this case.

"That Hardison I don't know. However, he is not after us, he is after Nate…otherwise; he would have taken Parker out when he could. Our main priority must be protecting Nate."

"What about me…?" Sophie said softly.

"Protecting you too Sophie." Eliot said

"I'm not the one needs protecting Eliot." Sophie said surprised at his answer.

"Maybe not like Nate…but protecting nonetheless. Sophie you are the key to this whole thing. Besides…" Eliot smiled at the woman. "He would never forgive me if something happened to you and you damn well know that."

"After what I did…" Sophie said dropping her head.

"After what somebody made you do…not your fault Sophie, you know it, I know it and you know that is what he will say." Eliot said lifting her head so that he was looking into her eyes.

"I…can I see him? I won't go in the room and you can hold me but…please Eliot I need to see him." Sophie asked afraid that Eliot would shoot her down.

"I don't see why not…you can't do anything here, from behind the glass." Eliot said and asked the nurse if she could raise the blinds that remained down after the incident.

Sophie gasped as she saw the man in the bed. "Oh Nate…" She said placing her hand on the window. "I am so sorry…" She said tears once again making their appearance.

**Next chapter we see a little more of our villain and how he is handling his plans going awry. Thanks for the reviews, all are greatly appreciated, please keep reviewing they really inspire me to continue with the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay in posting – I was hiking in the Drakensburg Mountains. No technology, no anything really, but am back now and will try to motor on with the story…**

Jason Messenger sat staring at the picture on his desk. His mind drifted back to the days when she was his.

Letitia Dubois was a young woman, just out of her teens when he had met her. The first time he laid eyes on her, he knew he wanted her. He knew she had to be his and he was used to getting what he wanted. She had been at an art exhibition and he could tell that she was not there to admire the paintings. He watched with interest as she had cased the place, checking the security, mingling with the rich and the famous that frequented the place with ease and grace. She fitted right into the mix. He was amazed at her Grifting ability at such a young age. He had also been there to relieve the owners of their Monet, but decided to leave it to her to do the deed. She had made her move on the fourth day. She was in and out in only a few minutes, but thanks to his tip off the guards were waiting for her. He needed her to get caught in order that he may step in and save her. He knew she would be grateful and that he could use that to make her stay with him. That was exactly what had happened. He had come in and gotten both her and the painting out. She had been grateful of course and he had convinced her to stay with him, just as he had planned. He told her he could teach her how to hone her skills as both a thief and a Grifter. She had stayed off course. For two years, they had travelled Europe and he taught her everything she needed to know. He loved her, worshiped her almost and she loved him.

Jason sat back in his chair as he remembered those days. Then his face darkened as he recalled the reason she had left. She had called him a monster. She had told him she hated him and never wanted to see him again, never wanted anything to do with him again. Then she had run. She had run and he had never been able to catch her. Letitia Dubois had disappeared. She was a Grifter so changing her identity would never be difficult for her, he knew that. He had tried to track her, thinking he had found her once or twice, but never quite been able to pin her down. He had wanted her dead then. He had hunted her to punish her and to kill her for hurting him in such a manner. But then he missed her, his heart ached at her loss. She was young he had told himself. She did not understand. He would find her and make her understand and she would love him again. But he had never found her. Many years later he had discovered her grave, or at least the grave of a woman called Letitia Dubois. But still he had never believed her dead. She was hiding from him but he would find her again, of that he had been certain.

Then a few months ago he had found her. When he had seen Sophie Devereaux he had immediately known she was Letitia, his Letitia. He had wanted to take her then and there, but she had been surrounded by people. Later he discovered they were the team she worked with now. He had been very angry when he had found that she had given herself to another. In his mind she still belonged to him and it was a betrayal for her to give herself to another man. But he had convinced himself that it was the man, Nathan Ford, who was to blame for her betrayal. He had to be punished he had to be removed so that she could come to him. That was when he had hatched the elaborate plan. He had done it before. He had made her believe she needed him and she had stayed. This time she would stay forever.

"Sir…" Jock Wilford said as he entered the room jerking Jonathan out of his memories.

"What is it…?" He said angrily looking up at the man as he stood before him. "Is Ford dead?"

"No sir…"

"You failed me again Wilford." He snarled pure venom in his voice.

"Sir…the young blonde woman interfered with Christian as he was about to end Ford's life." Wilford replied. He could feel the man's anger but he stood firm before him. "I will make sure Ford dies. I should have handled it myself in the first place."

Jonathan looked at his enforcer, his eyes narrow and piercing. "Leave Ford to me…Obviously he is too much for you to handle, even in the state he is in." He spat at the man sarcasm dripping from every word. "I have another job for you."

"Yes sir. What is it you want done?" Wilford said. He was just happy to still be standing in front of the man. He had almost expected for him to shoot him down in a rage.

"You will retrieve Sophie Devereaux for me. You will bring her to me here." Jonathan told him.

"Yes sir…if she resists sir?" Wilford asked.

"This will incapacitate her. Kill anyone who gets in your way, but Wilford…do not harm the woman, do you understand?" Jonathan said handing the man a syringe filled with a clear liquid.

"Yes sir." Wilford said as he took the syringe and left the room.

Jonathan sat back in his chair. "I underestimated your team my dear. I underestimated your…devotion." He almost choked on the word. "…to them…to him… and theirs to you. You will give me that devotion and they will be gone from your life. I will make sure Ford never touches you again and when you are here with me, you will realise what a mistake you made then. Soon my love…very soon…" He said talking to the image of the woman in the picture as he smiled to himself picturing their reunion in his mind.

**So hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do you think the team will be able to stop Sophie from being abducted? What do you think he has in mind for Nate? What do you think the team's reaction would be if Sophie did disappear from the hospital? I will try to get a new chapter up tomorrow again. Thank you all so very much for the reviews. Please keep them coming because I really and truly to appreciate each and every one.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Hardison, Eliot and Sophie had been going over the footage Hardison had managed to get from Sophie on her vacation. They had been doing that for the last three hours and they were getting nowhere.

"There's nothing there man…" Hardison said as he ran the images again of Sophie leaving the hotel and getting into the cab, followed by the events in the bar from when they had arrived to when Eliot left to go to the back after the police had left. Each time they ran the shooting Sophie visibly stiffened, the image of her shooting Nate tearing at her and breaking her heart over and over again. Eliot watched her and felt sorry for the woman, this was torture for her, but they had to figure this out and Sophie and what had happened at that bar was the key.

"Well we ain't got anything else to go on Hardison…we don't know who it is gunning for Nate, we don't know who took Sophie we don't know anything." Eliot said the frustration plain in his voice. HE stood up rubbing the back of his neck as he paced to the door and then back again. "I'm going to relieve Parker for a while. You stay here Sophie with Hardison, don't leave the room." He said looking at the Grifter.

"I won't." Sophie agreed. She wanted out of the room, she was just as tired and frustrated as Eliot was, but she knew she had to stay out of possible contact with her handler, because if she didn't…she did not even want to contemplate what could happen then.

"Tell Parker to pick us up something to eat and drink before she comes here, I'm starving man." Hardison said and Eliot acknowledged with a nod as he left the room closing the door behind him.

"So…shall we go over everything again?" Sophie said turning back to the Hacker.

Both of them turned back to the computer as Hardison started going over everything again. About fifteen minutes after Eliot had left the door burst open and two men stormed in. Hardison reacted immediately pushing Sophie behind him and confronting the first man in. He felt a blow to the side of his head as the gun barrel impacted and then he was lying crumpled on the floor. Sophie ran forward towards Hardison's prone body as the second man caught her arm. She felt a prick of a needle and then the world went black.

Eliot heard the commotion through his coms and was immediately on his way to the room calling Parker and telling her to get back to Nate, he did not want Nate left vulnerable, this could be a diversion, but he needed to get to Hardison and Sophie. When he got to the room he found Hardison unconscious and Sophie missing. He knelt by the side of the Hacker and checked his vital signs. They were strong. He had obviously just been knocked out. Rolling the man over he took off his jacket and made a pillow for him, then got up and checked around the room.

"Eliot…Hardison…what's going on down there?" Parker called over the coms. "Hardison answer me…?" She said panic now plain in her voice.

"He can't Parker, he's out." Eliot said softly. "And Sophie's gone…" He added.

"Hardison…"

"He's fine Parker, just knocked out. Stay with Nate." Eliot told the Thief. He looked around the room and ran his hand over his face. This whole situation was going from bad to worse.

"They took Sophie…?"

"Yeah Parker whoever this was they took Sophie." Eliot confirmed.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"We need to go after her."

"I know, but we can't leave Nate…and Hardison…" Eliot let out a long breath.

"Wha…what the hell happened…?" Hardison said as he came back to consciousness and realised he was lying on the floor and his head hurt as if he had been kicked in the head by a mule.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Eliot said helping the Hacker up and into a chair, then retrieving his jacket; he took a seat opposite him.

"I don't know…Sophie and I were going over the footage again when…Sophie…" Hardison said suddenly realising he had not seen the Grifter in the room.

"They took her."

"Who took her?" Hardison asked confused.

"I don't know dammit Hardison…" Eliot said his temper rising, not at Hardison, but at the situation he was now being confronted with.

"Ok…Ok…" Hardison said holding up his hands in the gesture of surrender. "Why did they just knock me out though…I mean they had guns?" Hardison said trying to recall all the details of the attack that he remembered.

"Another thing on the 'I don't know' list…" Eliot said despondently. "They came here for Sophie…and they got her."

"So they are not only after Nate but Sophie as well…" Parker said also trying to piece the puzzle together.

"Seems like it." Eliot agreed." They probably don't want her remembering anything and letting us get any information out of her." Eliot said his mind racing to try to figure it all out.

"But then…" Parker said slowly. "Why not just kill her, and Hardison?"

"Maybe they still want to use her in some way…maybe…hell I don't know Parker." Eliot said running his hand over his face slowly. "None of this makes any sense."

"So who are they after…Sophie, Nate, all of us…?" Hardison said thinking aloud. "I mean if they were after all of us then they would have killed me wouldn't they?"

"It just doesn't make sense…not of this makes any damn sense." Eliot said shaking his head at the Hacker.

"Ok but it doesn't matter if it does or doesn't make sense we have two problems now…Nate and Sophie." Hardison summed up the situation.

"So where do we start?" Parker asked looking through the window at Nate who lay still in his bed. He was the planner…he was the one who always knew what to do, he always had an answer no matter how difficult the question. Now they didn't have him or Sophie. It was just them and Nate and Sophie's lives depended on them.

"At the beginning..." Eliot said looking at the Hacker.

"I'm telling you man there is nothing to get out of that…we went over everything at least a hundred times and came up with nothing, nada...zip." Hardison reminded him.

"Then we are missing something." Eliot said simply. "Bring it up again Hardison…and the footage from the bar." He said as he took a seat in front of the computer. Hardison shook his head but complied with Eliot's instruction and started all running all the footage they had again.

**Thank you again for all your reviews. I am glad you are all still enjoying the story. Please keep them coming as they really inspire me to continue writing.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sophie came back to consciousness slowly. She did not know how long she had been out but she definitely knew she was no longer at the hospital. She had expected to wake up in some kind of cell, or stark room. She did not expect to be lying on soft warm bed in a large beautifully decorated room filled with antiques and artwork. She sat up in the bed causing a slight dizzy spell, a residual effect of the drug she had been injected with she concluded. As she sat on the edge of the bed trying to piece together what exactly had happened the door opened and a man walked in. It was a man she immediately recognised and her blood ran cold with fear as she saw him. Even after all these years he looked the same, there was no mistaking Jason Messenger, and with the recognition came understanding of everything that had happened.

"You found me." She said coldly looking at the man with loathing mixed with a healthy portion of fear.

"Did you think I wouldn't?" He asked approaching the bed and scowling as he noticed her recoil from his approach.

Sophie did not respond. She had spent the better part of her life running from this man. Hiding from him, making sure he would never be able to trace her. Now he had her. How she did not know, she was sure that there was no link between Sophie Devereaux and Letitia Dubois. She had made sure he would never find her, but he had and because of that; Nate lay in the hospital and Hardison…

"Hardison…" Sophie said suddenly remembering the Hacker lying still on the floor.

"So worried about your teammates…" He said as he moved closer until he came to a stop right in front of her. "But you do not have to fret my love; he is still alive, at least for now."

"What are you going to do…?" Sophie asked hesitantly looking up and into the lust filled eyes of the man before her.

"That depends on you my darling." Jason said looking down at her. "Their lives are in your hands now." He said reaching out for her and pulling her up off the bed and into his arms. She tried to pull herself free but he clasped her tighter to him. "Say you will stay with me Letitia. I know you love me, you just have to remember that you do, remember those years, Europe, traveling, all the fun we had. I know you missed me." He whispered to her his lips hovering over her ear, his hot breath sending shivers of disgust through her body.

"You are mistaken Jason, I don't love you. I never loved you." Sophie replied sliding her hands between them and pushing him away.

"You do love me Letitia, you know you do. It might take a while for you to realise that again, but I have all the time in the world now my love. I will wait for you to come to me. Until then, this…" He waved his hand around the room. "…this will be your home. I have filled it with all the things you love, all the artists and the antiques you cherish." He moved further away from her then and stood drinking her in, his eyes filled with desire and devotion. "As for your team…well if they come after you then I will have no choice but to protect you from them. After all you did kill their leader…" He said softly to her and smiled slightly as he saw Sophie's eyes widen and her face fill with fear at his words. "Yes my dear, I am afraid that Nathan Ford was just not strong enough to survive. You are an excellent shot my love…you did me proud." He said his words hitting her hard as she realised what he was saying. She felt her legs buckle and she fell onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. He watched her for a brief moment before continuing. "If you do not wish to mourn the other three members of your teams passing, you will accept my offer to be my wife and tell them you no longer wish to associate with them. It will be just the two of us again my darling Letitia, us against the world, just as it once was." He said.

Sophie did not answer him. She sat with her hand covering her face as the tears slipped silently down her cheeks. Nate was dead. She had killed him; nothing else mattered now.

**Ok a bit of a short chapter but I hope you all enjoyed it anyway. Is Nate really dead or is Jason just saying that to hurt Sophie? Will the rest of the team figure out what is going on and will they be able to save Sophie from him? What will Sophie do to protect the team? Will she give herself to Jason? Will Jason go after the team anyway? Thank you all so very much for the reviews. Please keep them coming they are all greatly appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

He walked out the door locking it behind him.

"Is everything in place?" He asked Wilford who stood waiting for him outside the door.

"Yes sir…but I feel this is an unnecessary risk sir. It would be better if I were to carry this mission out."

"And fail again…no Wilford I will do this. Ford will now die by my hand and in that way by hers too. Just make sure everything is in place. I do not want anything to go wrong this time. Besides they do not know who I am…they will suspect nothing until it is too late." He told the man before leaving to go to his study. Wilford watched him leave and then moved off to get everything they would need for the operation.

It was late when they pulled up in front of the hospital. There were no people around and the parking area was dark and quiet. Jason Messenger climbed out of his car and locking it made his way into the lobby of the hospital. He made his way to the nurse's station and had them page Dr Bradford Weldon. When the doctor arrived, he ushered Jason into one of the doctor's on-call rooms.

"You have everything in place?" Jason asked as the doctor closed and locked the doors.

"Yes, everything is in place, but Mr Messenger, there is always somebody outside his room. He is being constantly watched; all doctors and nurses in and out of his room are also being checked. Of course, they will not be allowed to accompany Ford to any 'Scans' he may need." The doctor smiled knowingly at Jason.

"Very good. They will not question my credentials, and I will have full access to Ford?"

"Yes sir. You will be called by his attending to consult on his worsening condition, at that time sir you must request that he be taken for a MRI, that cannot be done in his room, he will have to be taken down to the Radiology Department and then he will be yours to do with as you please. It has all been arranged." The doctor said. He handed Jason a doctor's outfit as well as credentials. "You are a consulting Cardiologist. I have arranged for there to be serious 'complications' with Ford, this will cause his lead attending to call for a consult. The main Cardiologist in the hospital is away at the moment and you are listed as his locum."

"Good, you have done well Bradford. Now when will all of this happen?"

"I can set things in motion as soon as I leave here. It will take a few minutes to set the alarms off and for his attending to investigate before calling for a consult."

"Fine…I will wait here then…"

"Yes sir, you will be paged when the time comes."

With that, the doctor left the room and went to do what he needed to in order set everything in motion.

In Nate's room ten minutes later alarms stared going off as Nate's heart rate dropped. Nurses and doctors including his attending physician rushed into the room and crowded around his bed. Hardison, who had relieved Parker of her duties immediately notified the other two that something was happening with Nate.

"His heart is failing, get a crash cart in here and we need a consult now…" The doctor said injecting Nate with atropine to try to increase his heart rate. "It's not working dammit the doctor said looking at the monitor which indicated that Nate's heartbeat had now dropped below 50bpm and his blood pressure was also dropping alarmingly low. It would only be a matter of time before the man's heart stopped all together. "Where the hell is the Cardiologist?"

"I am right here doctor…" Jason said as he entered the room and moved the doctor out of the way to lean over Nate's prone body. Jason did exactly what he had been instructed to do as he 'examined' Nate. "I need to get him to Radiology now for a MRI stat…" He informed the attending physician who nodded in agreement. There was organised chaos in the room as the nurses prepped Nate for his transfer to Radiology.

Hardison stood staring in at the scene, Parker's hand firmly in his each of them drawing strength from the other. Eliot stood to the side and watched through narrowed eyes as the scene played out. He saw them disconnecting Nate from some of the machines and preparing to transport him out of the room. He moved to the door and watched Nate's bed pass him along with a couple of nurses and his Cardiologist.

"What's going on doctor?" He asked as his attending doctor followed the group out of the room.

"Mr Ford's heart is failing. The Cardiologist wants to get an MRI of his heart." The doctor informed him shortly. "Don't worry, Dr Jenkins is an excellent doctor and your friend is in good hands. I will let you know the minute we know anything." The doctor said as he left to follow the rest down to Radiology.

"Eliot…?" Parker asked her eyes wide and full of trepidation as she caught a glimpse of the 'Cardiologist' as the elevator doors closed and she recognised the man who was trying to kill Nate.

"Let's go…" Eliot said and led the two of them after Nate in a flat run.

**Ah…another cliff hanger…I will post the next chapter soon…so what do you think is going on…why did the team crash into the MRI room? Do they know something is wrong and if so how? Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter and any speculation is also very welcome on what will happen next.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_FLASHBACK_

_Sophie sat on her bed her hands still covering her face. Nate was dead she thought to herself her heart breaking at the thought._

_Eliot and the other two had listened into the conversation. After Sophie was taken, they knew she still had her com in but Hardison had deactivated it so that if it were found by whoever took her, they would not be able to hear anything that was said between the three of them, although it was still active on their side and they could track her. They had decided to wait before going after her, their concern for Nate taking precedence. They could hear what was going on but Sophie could not hear them. Once they had determined that whomever the man Sophie called Jason had left Eliot gave Hardison the signal to reactivate the com link from both sides._

"_Sophie…Sophie can you hear me?" Eliot's voice cut through her thoughts._

"_Eliot…?" She whispered unsure if she was hearing things or not._

"_Sophie…he's not dead…Nate is not dead." Eliot's voice came through again. Then Sophie realised she was not hearing things. She still had her com in._

"_Oh Eliot…thank God." She said relief plain in her voice._

"_Sophie we are coming for you just hold on."_

"_No Eliot…don't leave Nate." Sophie said urgently. "He will come for Nate…he will come to kill him, you need to stay with Nate."_

"_Who is this guy Sophie?" Hardison's asked._

"_His name is Jason Messenger. He is very rich, very powerful and an out and out psychopath. Please Eliot…please make sure Nate is safe." _

"_We will, but what about you?" Eliot asked._

"_He won't do anything to me Eliot…he…he loves me, or at least he thinks he does."_

"_Strange way of showing it…" Parker hissed._

"_Jason Messenger…man this is one sick puppy…" Hardison said, while they had been talking he had looked up the man on his databases. "Suspected of numerous murders and kidnappings and some other things I don't really want to think about…you were involved with this guy…?" _

"_It's a long story and a very long time ago Hardison." Sophie said shame evident in her voice._

"_You think he is going to come after Nate himself?" Eliot asked._

"_I think he will…he wants him dead because…because…"_

"_Because he wants you..." Parker finished for her. "If Nate is still alive he thinks he will never have you."_

"_Yes…that's about it. He's been looking for me for a long time." Sophie confirmed._

"_How do you think he is going to come after Nate?" Eliot asked the Grifter._

"_I don't know Eliot, but he will do it himself. Hardison, you must have a picture of him?"_

"_Yeah, old but I would recognise him. I'm sending a picture to all your phones." He said._

"_Got it." Eliot said looking at the image of the man on his phone. _

"_Now what?" Parker asked._

"_Now you wait…he will be there, you have to stop him before he does something to Nate." Sophie said._

"_We can't just leave you there Sophie…"_

"_Yes you can Parker and you will. You can come get me after you made sure that Nate is safe." Sophie said finality in her voice. _

"_Ok…we do what Sophie says. We don't want this guy to know we are on to him so we play it cool, let him come to us." _

"_Eliot don't take any chances with this man…you don't know what he is capable of." Sophie said softly._

"_We'll take care of Nate and then we are coming for you." Eliot said his voice soft yet conveying the conviction he felt._

_END FLASHBACK_

As the three burst through the door to Radiology Eliot immediately noticed the doctor and the two nurses lying on the floor of the exam room, each of them lifeless. The man they had come for was standing beside Nate with a syringe in his hand.

Jason was about to administer the lethal dose to Nate when the doors to the room burst open and three very angry people came through. He realised that he had been discovered and although he wanted to take the time to administer the injection, he knew he would not be able to. Instead, he pushed the bed with all his strength towards the oncoming people blocking their path as he beat a hasty retreat out of the side door. He knew the way out as he had planned to leave that way anyway. Eliot and Parker skilfully avoided the oncoming object and rushed after Jason. Hardison reached out and brought the beds progress to a halt. He first checked that Nate was still breathing and then picked up the phone on the wall to get medical help in. He knew that Eliot would want him to make sure Nate was taken care of. Parker and Eliot were quite capable of bringing down Messenger without him.

Parker and Eliot ran full tilt after Messenger who made his getaway through the back of the hospital and out into the streets. He knew they were after him but if he could get across the road and into the back allies, he would be able to lose them. He ran out but did not see the oncoming car that struck him flinging him into the air and landing him on the hard tarmac a couple of meters from the impact zone. Parker and Eliot were immediately at his side. He looked up into the Hitters eyes and smiled.

"She is still mine. She will always be mine…" He said through gritted teeth.

"You lose Messenger…" Eliot said not even bothering to try to stem the flow of blood from the injured man.

"No…you lose; he can never have her…she will k…kill…him." He said the last words fading to nothing as his head lolled to one side and death claimed him.

"Don't…don't let him die…he has to tell us how to get this out of my head…Eliot." Sophie said hearing Jason's words and realising what they meant.

Eliot and Hardison looked at each other. It was too late for that Messenger was dead.

"Sophie…he's dead." Eliot told the woman.

"No…" Sophie said plaintively. If Messenger was dead, then he had won and she could never go near Nate again. "Then he has truly won…" Sophie said softly as tears escaped once more. She could never see Nate again. She could not take that chance.

"No Sophie…we'll figure this out." Eliot said. Sophie did not respond. "You listen to me Sophie…I know some people, people who can help. We WILL figure this out." Eliot said forcefully. "I'm coming for you now Sophie…and we will figure this out trust me."

"Don't Eliot…don't come for me…" Sophie said softly. "Just take care of Nate…" She said and then all three of them felt a sharp pain in their ears as the Sophie crushed her earbud, thereby cutting off their only link to her.

**Thanks for all the great reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know, I value each and every review I receive. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Dammit Sophie…" Eliot swore to himself under his breath.

"She won't be there when we get there will she?" Parker asked.

Eliot did not answer Parker. Sophie would not be there, of that he had no doubt. She would run, as far and as fast as she could. There was no way she was even going to take the smallest chance that she could be a danger to Nate. Not after what Messenger had said.

"Hardison…how's Nate?"

"I don't know once they got here they rushed him out and back into ICU. The police are on their way Eliot, we have one dead doctor and two dead nurses…this is going to get tricky."

"Yeah…Parker and I will meet you in ICU; then we'll decide what we're going to do. You have Sophie's last known right?"

"Yes."

"Good, see you in a minute." Eliot said. He took one last look at the man who had caused all this trouble. A crowd had gathered around the body, with doctors and nurses from the hospital and he could hear the sirens of the approaching police vehicles. Hardison was right this was going to get very tricky. The police are not going to be as easily fobbed off as they were at the brewery.

Arriving at the ICU they found Hardison sitting in the waiting room. The blinds on Nate's room were down and they could see nothing of what was going on inside. Eliot just hoped that Nate was going to be alright. He looked at the two youngest members of the team and could see by their faces that they were worried.

"We need to get out of here before the police arrive." Eliot said knowing they were not going to want to leave Nate, at least not before they knew he was still alive and going to be alright.

"We can't leave Nate." Parker said softly.

"We have to Parker, the police will definitely detain us and we can't have that, it would not be good for Nate or Sophie. We need to go guys." Eliot said adamantly.

"Where to…?" Hardison asked looking at the Hitter.

"Out of here, and fast, the police are not going to be happy with any explanation we give. Hardison go get your stuff, Parker help him and I'll meet you outside at the van. Then we go find Sophie…you have her last known location Hardison..?"

"Yeah…but you know Parker is right, she probably won't be there when we get there right."

"If she could get away, I doubt Messenger left her alone without a guard or something. If they know what went down here, they might decide to take it out on her." Eliot replied.

"Ok…come on Hardison let's go." Parker said taking the Hackers hand and leading him towards the room to pick up his things. She did not want to leave Nate, but Eliot's words had caused her even more concern. They could kill Sophie in retaliation for Messenger's death and every second they delayed could be costly.

Eliot watched the two leave then turned his attention back to Nate's room. He needed to know if the Mastermind was going to be alright, at least for now. He moved to the room and opened the door.

"Sir you can't be in here." A nurse said as she saw him enter.

"I need to know about his condition." Eliot said ignoring the nurse and pushing forward.

The doctor looked up at Eliot briefly then went back to whatever he was doing to Nate.

"Not good…now get out." He told the Hitter.

Eliot looked at the doctor and then at the man in the bed. He looked lifeless; his monitors indicated that his vital signs were bad, very bad. Eliot was not a doctor but he could see the signs of a life slipping away. He had seen it many times before. Nate was not doing well, possibly would not survive this and Sophie was gone, his family was being torn apart and there was little he could do about it.

"Hold on Nate…please just hold on." Eliot said to the man then left the room closing the door behind him. He leaned against the door and closed his eyes drawing in a deep breath. Then he moved out of the hospital passing the police on the way out.

Eliot picked the other two up in front of the hospital and Hardison gave him directions to Sophie last known position. Arriving at the house they found it deserted. Entering on for the rooms they found Wilford lying unconscious on the floor, judging by the locks on the door, possibly the room Messenger had been holding Sophie in. they were too late. Sophie was gone. Parker found the note she had left for them. It was addressed to all of them. The message inside was simple and heart breaking.

_I am sorry. I can't take the chance of hurting Nate. I love him. I love all of you, you are my family. Please do not look for me. Please take care of Nate, and of yourselves. This is for the best, for all of us._

_Sophie._

"No…" Eliot said slamming his fist against the wall. "This is not happening. We are not losing Sophie. Messenger will not win." He said his eyes blazing the challenge at the other two.

"Damn right…" Hardison said looking at Parker.

"So where do we start looking for her?" Parker said looking to Eliot.

"That I don't know." Eliot

"Nate would know." She said.

"Yes he would." Hardison agreed.

"He can't tell us though…and you said…he may never…He…"

"I was wrong to even think that Parker. He will make it through this. Nate is one hell of a stubborn man and if he knew that Sophie needed him, that she was missing, or in danger…he'll come back to us." Eliot said a new determination in his voice.

"So how do we get him to understand that? We can't even get near him at the moment. The doctor said what…that he was not in good shape, what is it that you think we can do Eliot." Hardison said despondency plain in his voice.

"I can get to him." Parker said easily. She had already scoped out how to get into ICU without being noticed, she knew she would be able to get to Nate undetected.

"Parker he's in a coma…" Hardison said.

"Don't be an idiot Hardison…once he hears we need him, that without him we will never find Sophie…he'll wake up." Parker said and Eliot had to smile at the surety he heard in her voice. Parker had so much faith in Nate that he was sure she thought he could beat the devil himself. Well, he had given her, all of them really, including Sophie, something nobody else had been able to, a family. Eliot often wondered how Nate managed to hold them together. Now he knew. They loved him, each in their own way, each for different reasons, but each of them would do anything for the man. They respected him, they admired him but above all they loved him.

"Ok Parker. You get to Nate and you make him understand. Hardison make sure she has what she needs to put in the room to keep tabs on him and his condition. We will also need to make arrangements for communication when he wakes up. "

"No problem…what about him?" Hardison asked looking at the unconscious Wilford.

"Leave him to the cops, I am sure you can twist this so we are in the clear and that bastard Messenger and this guy takes the fall for everything." Eliot said more as a statement than a question.

"I'll need some time but yeah, I can do that."

"Good, then we can go back to the hospital and wait for Nate to give us what we need to find Sophie." Eliot stated. "Parker find me some rope or something so we can make sure he isn't going anywhere." Eliot said then turned back to the Hacker. "Hardison, make it happen."

Once they had secured Wilford and Hardison had worked his magic, they climbed back into the van and headed back to the hospital. It was time for them to put their family back together and the three of them had no doubt that was exactly what they were going to do.

**I am so sad about the fact that Leverage will not be renewed for a 6****th**** season. Thank you for all your reviews and be assured that as long as you guys want to read my Leverage stories I will keep writing them. I just cannot understand why they would end one of the best series ever on TV…but alas I have no say over the matter, so I will, just like the rest of the Leverage Lovers, keep them alive by reading and writing Leverage Fanfic. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I look forward to reading all of your reviews. **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Parker made it into Nate's room as easily as she had said she would. She dropped down into the room from the vent and made her way to his bedside. The machines in the room beat out a slow rhythm telling her he his heart was still beating and the rise and fall of his chest along with the sound of the ventilator told her he was still breathing. He looked lifeless though, pale and still. She tentatively reached out and took his hand in hers careful not to disturb any of the IV's or tubes he was connected to.

"Nate…Nate it's me Parker." She whispered leaning over him. "You've got to wake up Nate. Sophie is missing. You need to wake up so that you can tell us where to look for her. Only you know where she would have gone." She said. She got no reaction to her words. She did not know what she was expecting. She supposed that she would see some sort of recognition from him to her words. At least his heart rate to rise or a small acknowledgement by a squeeze of her hand or something, but there was nothing. "Nate please, you need to wake up." She said pleadingly.

"Parker, you have to be quick, the nurses will be in shortly to check on him." Hardison said through the coms.

"He isn't responding…there is nothing." Parker said still holding his hand gently.

"That's ok Parker. You can go back again. We'll keep trying until we get through…get out now; the nurses are on their way." Eliot told her. He had not expected and immediate response, it would take time, and patience. He would not allow himself to even contemplate that he would not come out of it. That he would not come through, that was just not an acceptable option.

Parker looked down at Nate. Her face held one of her sad pouts as she held his hand a little tighter. "You have to wake up Nate. Sophie needs you." She said softly. "I have to go now but I will be back."

"Parker…put an earbud in his ear." Eliot told her. Parker did as Eliot requested then slipped back into the air duct and shimmied down towards their little room.

"Nate Parker is right. Sophie is in danger, she has run, she is on her own. You need to wake up so that you can tell us where to look for her. We can't find her without you." Eliot said through the coms. He was not entirely sure that his words or Parkers were getting through, but somehow he knew Nate would respond. He had to respond.

"Yeah man Nate, she needs you man, you can't just let her down." Hardison added.

Parker had now reappeared in the room with them.

"Do you think it's going to work?" She asked Eliot. "He looks so…so still."

"It will work Parker, it has to."

Two days past with them talking to Nate through the coms and Parker paying frequent visits to him, but still there was no response. The doctors had decided to wean him from the sedation but he had still not woken up. His vital signs had improved though and he had started to breathe on his own, fighting the ventilator, so the doctors had removed it. Although he remained in a coma, Eliot was sure they were getting through to him, he was fighting. Waking up was only a matter of time. He hoped that wherever Sophie was she was safe and that when Nate woke he would be able to at least guess at where she might have gone. Hardison's work with Messenger and Wilford had paid off and the police had attributed everything that happened to them. Now they could visit with Nate openly, although the doctors would still not allow them to spend any time with Nate in ICU, they could at least watch him through the windowed off room.

It was the night of the fourth day and Parker was with Nate again. She held his hand as she had done on each off her visits and spoke quietly to him.

"He squeezed my hand Eliot…" She suddenly said holding Nate's hand even tighter.

"Nate…Nate…wake up Nate…" Parker said leaning in and talking urgently to the man.

She felt again the slight pressure of Nate's fingers against her hand and smiled broadly. She could see his eyelids flutter as he fought to open them and she leaned in further urging him to wake. Suddenly she was confronted by his blue eyes staring up at her. She could see he was disorientated as he looked at her.

"He's awake…" She said into her coms.

Hardison and Eliot immediately left the room and headed in her direction. Nate was awake and they wanted to be there. The entered the room ignoring the nurses who tried to stop them. Nobody was going to keep them from Nate now.

"Nate…" Eliot said as he came to a halt beside his bed. "Nate…"

"Sophie…" Nate said his voice sounding strangled and strained but the word clear.

"She left Nate…we need you to find her." Eliot said not holding back the truth. This was why Nate had fought his way back, and he needed him to fight a little more to come back fully to them.

"Why?" Nate managed to get out. He was not sure what had happened. He knew he was in a hospital, he recognised the smells and the sounds. He was just a little fuzzy on why he was here. His last memory was of the dinner at the pub and then Sophie…Suddenly Nate closed his eyes and a strained look came over his face. Sophie had shot him.

"She thinks she will hurt you again if she comes near you. She was programmed to do what she did. Nate, we need to find her and help her." Eliot said. He could see by the expression on Nate's face that he had remembered what had happened.

"How long have I been out of it?" Nate asked breathlessly. The effort of speaking was taking its toll on the Mastermind.

"About a week…and before you ask Sophie's been gone four days." Eliot replied.

Nate did not respond immediately. He kept his eyes closed going over the events as he remembered them. Sophie had gone to the bar. She had come back holding a gun and then…he did not remember much after that until he had woken up a few minutes ago.

"Who…?" Nate asked still not opening his eyes.

"A man named Jason Messenger. He is dead. He said that Sophie would still kill you when and if she ever came near you again so she ran." Eliot told him. "I can help her Nate…I have friends who know about these things, deprogrammers…but she did not want to take the chance that she might hurt you again."

Nate opened his eyes then and looked at his Hitter. Eliot could see the anguish in them and he took Nate's hand.

"We are going to get her back. Where would she go Nate, we need to have a starting point."

"I don't know…?" Nate said trying to sit up in the bed. Eliot put his hands on Nate's shoulders and pushed him gently back down onto the mattress. He could see the small beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead and his breathing was coming in rasps. His heart rate had also climbed and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"That's enough…all of you get out." The doctor said having arrived after being summoned by the nurses. He made his way to Nate's side and immediately started examining the man. Nate had fallen back onto the mattress completely exhausted by the few minutes he had spent with the team.

"Nowhere I would look…" He whispered almost inaudibly to his Hitter as he pulled him down to him with what little strength he still possessed.

Eliot nodded to the man as the doctor separated them and they were unceremoniously ushered out of the room by the nurse with him.

"What did he say?" Parker asked as they exited the room and watched through the glass as Nate was examined by the doctors.

"Nowhere I would look." Eliot repeated Nate's words to them.

"Well that doesn't help…we don't know where he would look in the first place." Hardison groused.

"I know Hardison…but it's a start. Just look up all the places that Nathan Ford reported running into Sophie Devereaux and we can eliminate them immediately. I know it doesn't get us very far but it is a starting point."

"I can remember some of the stories too, the ones that Nate and Sophie told, so we can eliminate them too right?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, input those too Hardison, that will narrow the field quite considerably." Eliot said nodding his head at the Thief.

They worked on the names of places, slowly eliminating Paris, Rome, Tuscany, Damascus, actually most of Europe. But they were still left with countless places she could have gone to. They needed to know where she would most likely have gone to. Eliot realised that the exercise was really not get them anywhere fast. They needed Nate to wake up again; they needed him to tell them where to start.

"Did you check if she left the country?" Parker asked.

Hardison gave her a 'what do you think' look before answering. "Yeah Parker, but we don't even know a tenth of all her aliases. I have facial recognition running too but so far nothing." Hardison said.

"Ok, so now we wait for Nate again. He has to give us more than just 'nowhere he would look'." Eliot said frustrated at the lack of progress. Time was moving along swiftly and the longer they waited the harder Sophie was going to be to find.

"What about Tara, won't she be able to tell us where Sophie was most likely not to go?" Parker suddenly asked. Tara was Sophie's best friend, her only friend from her Grifter days and surely she would have some idea of what Sophie was likely to do.

"That's a good idea. If we could get hold of her." Hardison said. He did not have the woman's number. When they needed Tara they always went through Sophie. Tara was a Grifter and she was not easy to locate under the best of circumstances.

"Hardison is right; we would not even know where to start looking for her either. No, our best bet is still Nate." Eliot said.

Nate woke again the next day. This time he was more orientated and aware of what was going on.

"Have you found her?" Was the first question out of his mouth as Eliot and the other two approached his bed.

"Nate, you didn't give us much to go on." Eliot told the Mastermind.

"Ok, so what have you done?" Nate asked trying to push himself up in the bed and failing miserably.

"Eliminated all the places you would think of she might have gone." Hardison said and then listed all the places they had eliminated from memory and from reports filed by Nate of where he had had run ins with the Grifter.

"No…" Nate said shaking his head. "I meant she would expect me not to look there…she may well be in any one of those cities."

"Then where do we start?" Eliot asked realising their mistake.

"Here." Nate said sagging back into the mattress.

"What…you mean here in Portland?" Parker said astounded by his answer. She had expected one of the cities they had listed, somewhere far away.

"Yes Parker…here in Portland. She would want to make sure I was still alive and that I was recovering. I know it sounds crazy to you but she would not leave until she was satisfied that I was going to make it through this." Nate said to his Thief. He knew Sophie very well. He loved her, although he would never admit that out loud and she loved him. He would never leave the area if it was her lying in this hospital close to death with a chance that she may not make it, and, no matter what the risk nor would Sophie. Besides there was little risk, as long as Nate was incapacitated and in the hospital all she had to do was avoid coming here. The threat of Messenger had been removed so she was at liberty to hang around and keep tabs on him.

"Ok…so…" Hardison said signalling with his hand to indicate Nate should continue with his thought.

"So look for somebody inquiring about my health, a relative, another doctor, anything…" Nate said closing his eyes but fighting the darkness that wanted to envelope him again.

"Ok…yeah alright can do…" Hardison said.

"Good…" Nate said his voice fading as he again lost the battle to stay conscious.

"He's out again." Eliot said looking down at the man in the bed. "Ok Hardison go work your magic, find us a Sophie." He said as they all left the room headed for the room they had set up as their temporary headquarters while Nate was in the hospital.

**So do you think Hardison will find Sophie? If they do will they be able to get her to stay put? Please leave me your reviews, I look forward to reading all of them, and all your speculations on what is still to come in the story. **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Within the next two days Nate was driving everybody insane. He wanted out of the hospital and he wanted to find Sophie. He had been moved out of ICU and into a private room, which the others now relocated their headquarters to. Hardison had not been able to locate Sophie; if she was keeping tabs on Nate he had no idea how. There had been no inquires no visits nothing. If Sophie was around, she was being very careful not to been seen or heard. They had gone to Nate's apartment, the brewery, Sophie's apartment, they had checked her warehouses and her safe houses; at least the ones they knew about. They had checked the theatre and now they were without any idea of where else to look. Nate was like a bear with a sore tooth. Tensions were running high and Eliot was afraid that something had to give.

"You know you can't go with us when we do find her right Nate?" Parker asked as they were discussing where to look next and the Thief heard Nate stating that he was going to book himself out of the hospital.

Nate did not bother answering her; he just gave her one of those looks. The kind of look that said 'don't start with me...'

"She's right man. Sophie did not speak to anybody else after…well anyways; she could still try to kill you when we find her." Hardison concurred with Parker.

"They are right Nate. Sophie was programmed to kill you and that command has not been removed. That is why she ran." Eliot said looking at the Mastermind. He was not sure what he was most afraid of, finding Sophie or not finding her. When they found her Nate could not be with them, that he knew, but getting Nate to agree to stay away from the Grifter was another question all together.

"First we have to find her." Nate said, "Then we will worry about the rest."

"Well you got any ideas on where else here in Portland she might be?" Hardison asked, they had really looked everywhere he could think of.

"No…" Nate said in a tired voice. "Why don't you guys go get us something to eat, I'm sick of this hospital food." Nate continued. He wanted some time alone, time to think.

"Yeah Hardison, you and Parker go get us some Italian." Eliot said.

"No Eliot, I meant all of you." Nate said looking at his Hitter. "I need some time alone." He said in explanation.

"Nate…"

"Eliot please, I have not had a moment to myself since I woke up and I…I just need some alone time…please." Nate said plaintively.

"Ok…" Eliot said. He could understand it to a point. He did not want to leave Nate alone though. Not out of fear that Nate was in danger but of fear that Nate would up and leave and go after Sophie on his own, and knowing the man as he did that was a real possibility.

"Don't worry Eliot…I'm not going to run off Ok…" Nate smiled at him. "I just need some time to think, and I do that best on my own."

"Ok…" He looked at the other two and indicated that they should go.

Parker and Hardison took their cue from Eliot and exited the room. Eliot hung back and turned back to Nate.

"You know she will kill you if she gets close to you. She won't be able to help herself, just like in the bar. If she does, if you give her that opportunity, not only will you be dead, you will have killed her too, she will never forgive herself." Eliot paused keeping his eyes locked with Nate. "Not to mention the damage you will do to those two people out there." He said not mentioning what it would do to him as well. "So I'm asking Nate, please don't do what I know you want to. I can't stop you from being stupid. But I'm asking, for our sake, for her sake and for your own sake let me handle this." He did not wait for a response from Nate, just turned and walked out leaving Nate staring after him.

They had been gone for about an hour when Nate's cell phone rang. He answered it after the third ring but did not say anything, the number was from an unknown source and he wanted to know who he was talking to first.

"She is on your boat. If you can get to her first…you can have her." The voice on the other end said. Then the phone went dead.

Nate stared at the phone for a minute and then forced himself up and out of the bed. His movements were slow and laboured the effort of dressing and getting ready to leave brining sweat to his forehead and causing him to lose his breath. Just before he left the room he scrawled a note for Eliot telling him where he had gone and why.

The taxi pulled up at the docks thirty minutes later and Nate made his way to where his boat was moored. It appeared deserted. His heart was racing as he approached. Was he too late, had whoever had been on the line got to Sophie first? Moving as fast as he could he climbed aboard and moved to the cabin door which had been left open. Taking a deep breath and with a deep seated dread of what he was going to find he went inside.

Sophie was there. She stood facing the door tears filled her eyes as she watched him enter the cabin. He stopped and stared at his Grifter.

"Nate…" She said tears spilling down her cheeks, but she did not move to go to him.

"Sophie…" Nate said his voice soft and gentle.

"Why did you come here, why…?" She almost sobbed.

"Because my dear you still have unfinished business with Mr Ford and he was kind enough to oblige me by coming." A voice behind her said and a man stepped out of the shadows.

Nate did not take his eyes of Sophie when he spoke.

"Who are you…Messenger…?"

"Is dead? Yes, my brother is dead. Thanks to your people. I thought that I would complete his work though. To see you die at the hands of this woman. Quite frankly I don't see what he saw in her, but he loved her. All those years he loved her. Now he will get his revenge on her and on you Mr Ford." John Messenger said moving to Sophie's side. He handed her a gun and smiled at Nate. "My brother was a genius; he made us both very rich men, powerful men. I loved my brother dearly Mr Ford. When I heard that he was dead, murdered, well I knew I had to make sure the one responsible suffered. He had only one weakness and that was Letitia Dubois, the woman he loved. You are both equally responsible for his death. Now Mr Ford you will die by her hand and then I will make sure she never ensnares another man…" John said his voice dark with hatred.

"Sophie…" Nate said softly. "I love you Sophie, you don't have to do this, fight it Sophie, fight it…" Nate said moving forward until he stood directly in front of her. He swayed slightly and he felt his strength ebbing from him but he was determined.

Sophie watched him and raised the gun John had given her pointing it directly at Nate. Her eyes told Nate that she knew what she doing and that she could not stop it, she could not stop herself. Just then the door to the cabin was thrown open and Eliot, Parker and Hardison burst in. Messenger made a move to intercept them but Eliot took him out easily. Then the three of them came to a halt transfixed by the scene playing out before them.

"Sophie, listen to me…you can fight this. You don't have to do this. You are stronger than that; you are the strongest woman I know. Sophie, I love you. Don't do this." Nate kept talking to Sophie as he moved even further forward until her gun rested on his chest, just above his heart.

Eliot watched and cursed Nate's actions; he could not stop whatever went down now. He would not be able to get to Sophie before she pulled the trigger and it was point blank range. Sophie would not miss. Nate would be dead and there was nothing he could do except stand and watch. Parker and Hardison stood frozen as they too realised that there was nothing they could do to stop this. They listened to Nate as he spoke to her gently his words soft and loving. Then they realised he was not begging her not to pull the trigger any more. He was telling her it was alright if she did, that he forgave her; that he loved her no matter what happened next. They could see that he was getting weaker. His legs looked as though they were about to buckle underneath him. But still he stood firm, his voice weak but adamant. Eliot knew he would not last much longer anyway, his physical condition was precarious, not to mention the fact that he was sure that Sophie would not be able to stop herself from pulling the trigger.

Sophie listened to Nate's voice. Her hand shook as she fought the urges inside her, the voice that told her to kill this man. Her mind screaming at her that she had to do it, she had to pull the trigger. Her heart telling her she could not do it, that she loved him. She looked up and into his perfectly blue eyes as she cocked the weapon. Nate did not even flinch at the sound. He merely leaned in pushing the gun harder onto his chest.

"It doesn't matter Sophie, because I don't want to live without you anyway…you have always been there for me. You have always been my rock. I can't lose you, I can't lose another family. I love you Sophie and no matter what happens you must always remember that. I…Love…You." He said emphasising each word.

Then there was a terrible silence as he stopped talking and Sophie looked into Nate's eyes again.

"Nate…" She sobbed and then there was a deafening roar as the sound of the gunshots filled the cabin.

**Let me first and foremost wish all my loyal readers a very Merry Christmas. Sorry for the cliff-hanger…I just couldn't resist. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter, I cherish each and every review I receive.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

All of them were deafened by the sound from the gun. Sophie fired until the chamber was empty and then kept on firing the clicking of the trigger loud in the silence that followed the gunshots.

"It's ok Sophie, it's alright…" A soft gentle voice said as the gun was taken from her hands.

"Nate…Oh God Nate…" Sophie sobbed as Eliot led her to the bed and sat her down.

Hardison and Parker were kneeling on the floor beside Nate's prone body. Hardison pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled 911, requesting urgent medical assistance.

Eliot made his way over to Messenger who was still out on the floor where the Hitter had dropped him when they had entered. He located some rope and tied the man up. He placed the gun in the man's hands and pressed it down. Once he was sure that Messenger's fingerprints were on the gun and not Sophie's, he dropped the gun in the vicinity of Messenger's unconscious form. Then he looked over at the two huddled around Nate and shook his head before returning to the Grifter who still sat sobbing uncontrollably on the bed. He put his arms around her to try to comfort her.

The ambulance arrived shortly afterwards, Parker and Hardison backed away and the paramedics immediately started working on Nate. They inserted an IV and hooked him up to monitors which immediately started screaming out alarms. They also 'bagged him' giving him oxygen to assist his laboured breathing. They worked quickly and within only a few minutes they had Nate loaded on a gurney and on the way to the parking area and the ambulance which would transport him back to the hospital.

"Parker go with him." Eliot instructed the Thief who stood staring after the departing Mastermind. Parker nodded and ran after the gurney climbing into the ambulance with Nate.

Once they had gone the police arrived. They took all of their statements. The story was of course that Nate had returned home to his boat to be confronted by a robber who had tried to kill him. The police took the gun found on the floor beside Messenger and then took the man into custody as he returned to consciousness. The police warned Eliot, Hardison and Sophie not to leave town and then told them they could go to the hospital to see their friend.

Eliot took Sophie and led her out to the van followed by Hardison. Sophie had stopped crying. She was obviously in shock and was just allowing Eliot to lead her around, she did not resist him at all, she also did not speak to either of them. When they arrived at the hospital they found Parker in the ICU waiting area. She had let them know that they had taken Nate back into theatre and that she had been told to wait there. There had been no word on Nate's condition and Eliot could see that Parker was taking a lot of strain. He led Sophie to one of the chairs and sat her down. Then he turned back to Parker.

"What did they say…?" He asked the Thief.

"Just that they had to take him into theatre…he didn't look good Eliot, he was so pale and the alarms and…"

"It's ok Parker…he's going to be ok…" Hardison said taking her into his arms as she buried her head in his shoulder and gave into the emotions letting the tears fall from her eyes. "It's going to be ok…" He repeated looking at Eliot over Parkers head with plaintive eyes. He needed reassurance that his words were true, that Nate would be ok.

Eliot did not say anything. He did not know if Nate was going to be ok and he was not prepared to make promises he could not keep, that were not up to him to keep. He moved over to Sophie's side and took her hand in his.

"Sophie…" He said gently. "Sophie…" He repeated when he got no response. He moved his hand and took her chin turning her head so that she was looking him in the eyes.

"It's alright Sophie…you did not shoot him, you won, you beat Messenger…" He said as he remembered the scene on the boat.

His heart had stopped beating when he heard the shots ring out. Then when Nate had collapsed for one brief horrible moment he thought she had shot him again, killing him. But there was no blood on Nate, he had collapsed because he should never have been out of the hospital in the first place. If they had taken him into surgery he had probably torn something inside or caused the internal bleeding to start again due to the effort he had made to get to the boat in the first place. Sophie had pulled the trigger yes, but she had not shot Nate, she had put six bullets into the wall of the boat just above Nate's head, she had fought and she had won. He was genuinely surprised that she had been able to resist, but then, she loved Nate, and love…well that did truly conquer all, especially a love like Sophie and Nate's.

The doctor came out to talk to them a few hours later. Nate had torn his stiches and he had reopened internal wounds causing a leak, blood had seeped into his chest cavity and that is what had caused the collapse. They had sealed the leak and replaced the stitches. The doctor told them that he was not out of the woods and that he was now in critical condition. He would be placed back into ICU for at least the next twenty four hours, and he was back on the respirator for the time being.

Nate was brought back to his room an hour later and the doctor reluctantly, after much coercion by Eliot who knew the one thing that would keep Nate alive was Sophie, allowed Sophie into the room with him for a few minutes. She stood at the door staring at him. He was pale and completely still. She walked to his bedside and took his hand in hers. She leaned over and kissed his forehead which felt cold to her lips.

"I love you Nathan Ford, more than you will ever know…please, please don't leave me now." She whispered to him tears once again escaping her eyes.

**Hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you thought, I look forward to the reviews.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Three weeks later found the team seated around the dinner table again in the brewpub. It had been a long hard three weeks. Nate had taken a long time to come back to them after his second surgery with doctors and the team alike fearing for his life. But in the end he had come back to them. Recovery had been slow and he had only been released from the hospital that very morning. Eliot was amazed that Sophie had managed to keep him there for so long anyway, Nate hated hospitals, but Sophie was not prepared to take any chances with this health and only when the doctor had given the go ahead, with some very strict instructions for rest and recover, had she allowed Nate to leave.

They sat together at the table and the conversation was jovial and lively. They did not discuss Messenger, or what had happened. It was past and if Parker, Hardison or Eliot were curious about the mystery man who had caused all the trouble, they did not venture to ask Sophie about it. Eliot was sure that she had told Nate though. Something had changed between the two of them since the whole fiasco had started almost a month and a half ago now. They seemed more intimate, more openly loving toward each other. The rest of the team knew how they felt about each other, hell Eliot had known since they first met Sophie outside that theatre in Chicago. It was written all over Nate's face then, just as it was now. It would be at least a few more weeks, if not months before Nate would be fully recovered from the ordeal though. The damage done to his lungs and heart were severe although, thank the Lord, not permanent. Sophie mothered him and although all of them could see some irritation on Nate's face, he allowed her too. Somehow he knew that this is what Sophie needed. To take care of him, to make sure he was alright.

"Nate I think it is time we went home…don't you?" Sophie said looking over at the Mastermind and seeing the tiredness on his face and the way his body was sagging slightly against his chair. He was still extremely weak and tired easily. Besides it had been a long day with Nate insisting on this dinner.

"Yeah…I'm a little bushed myself." Eliot said stretching his arms out.

"Yeah, me and Parker are also going to head home." Hardison chimed in.

Nate rolled his eyes at all of them. It was still very early and none of them were in the least bit tired. They were doing this because they could see he was. He smiled to himself then. He did not know just when they had become a family, but they had. A very close knit family who would do almost anything for each other, sacrifice anything for each other and take care of each other always. That was something he had never thought he would have again. After Sam and Maggie and the divorce and the drinking and everything else, he had known that he would never be happy again. He sighed thinking about that for a minute and looking at the people around the dinner table. Oh well he thought, I'm allowed to be wrong sometimes.

"Alright, I get it…" He said smiling at them. "Thanks for the meal Eliot, best I've had in weeks…" He said as he rose from the table slowly.

"My pleasure Nate, just glad you are here to enjoy it." Eliot said happily.

"Ok guys, we'll see you tomorrow." Sophie said helping Nate with his coat and then taking his arm and leading him to the exit. Nate accepted her help without argument and smiled at his young teammates wishing them all a good night before he and Sophie exited the pub.

The three of them watched the two oldest member of the team leave and then started to clear away the dishes.

"He's still very weak." Hardison said as they watched them leave.

"Yes he is, but he's getting stronger all the time and the doctor said there was no permanent damage." Eliot said as he packed the dishes into the washer.

"Are you sure it's over…I mean…what if Sophie…I mean I know she didn't shoot him and all but what if it comes back, the voices, the urges…" Parker asked. It had been bugging her for a while now but whilst Nate had been in the hospital one of them had always been there along with Sophie. Now Sophie was alone with Nate.

"Parker…it's done. Sophie is not going to do anything to Nate except look after him. I promise." Eliot said although an element of doubt crept into his voice as he said it. Mind control was a difficult thing. That Sophie had beat the control, that she had fought and won out was a little miracle all on its own. He had also wondered if that suggestion that had been planted would resurface. He had been meaning to talk with Sophie about it, get her to go and see his buddy that was well versed in the techniques used in Mind Control and Programming, but had not had the chance to yet. Now with Parker brining up her fears, it had caused his to resurface again.

"Eliot's right girl…it's done." Hardison said pulling Parker into a hug. "Nothing is going to happen to Nate." He whispered into her ear and pulled her closer hugging her tight to his body. He for one did not think for a minute that Sophie would try to hurt Nate again.

Once they had finished with the clearing up Eliot said goodnight and left the pub. He did not go home however. He decided, for his own reassurance to pay a visit to Sophie's apartment where her and Nate were staying. Parker had got to him with her worries and although he was sure he had nothing to worry about he decided caution was the better part of valour. Pulling up outside Sophie's apartment building he turned off the car and made himself comfortable. He knew he was being paranoid, and he knew that if Sophie were going to do anything to Nate, sitting out here was not going to help him in any way, but it made him feel better and so he sank down into the car seat and prepared for a long night's vigil. In the morning, he would talk to Sophie about seeing somebody, just to make sure that there were no residual effects from her programming left.

Nate and Sophie arrived back at her apartment where Nate had agreed to stay until they had fixed up the boat; the whole one wall needed repaneling thanks to the six bullet holes in it. He was very tired. He did not want to admit it but the day had taken a lot out of him. It had been worth it though. Sitting around the dinner table with his family was just the right type of medicine he needed.

"Shall we go to bed Ms Devereaux…" He smiled at her.

"Mr Ford…" Sophie said blushing slightly at the suggestive tone in his voice.

"To sleep of course..." He followed up pulling her in for a kiss.

"Of course…" Sophie said kissing him back then taking his arm leading him into the bedroom.

Nate started getting undressed and into his sweatpants and t-shirt as Sophie went to do her nightly routine in the bathroom.

"I really enjoyed tonight, it was good to be back together around a dinner table." Nate said to her as he climbed into bed pulling the covers up over himself.

"Yes. It was." Sophie replied. It had been. It seemed like such a long time ago that they had all sat around the table together, and then…The thought made her stop what she was doing and take a deep breath. That was not one of the dinners she would remember with any pleasure. The last time they had sat around a dinner table together she had put three bullets into Nathan. The thought made her feel ill and she looked at herself in the mirror inhaling deeply.

"Sophie…you coming…?" Nate called out. She did not usually take this long in the bathroom before joining him in bed.

"I'll be right there Nate." Sophie said as she rummaged around her bathroom looking for something.

"Just not too long…it's cold here." Nate said sitting up in bed and opening Sophie side of the blankets for her.

"Don't worry darling…I'll be right there." Sophie said softly. A few minutes later she stepped into the room and the sight of her took Nate's breath away…

**Sorry guys…another slight cliff hanger. What do you think caused the reaction from Nate? Did the memory of that night bring back the 'programming' instructions to Sophie? Is Nate in danger and will Sophie try to kill him again? If so will Eliot be able to save him in time even though he is outside and still in the car? I will try not to take too long to post again. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter, I really am appreciative of all reviews.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next morning brought all of them together again at the brewpub. Eliot had left Sophie's apartment early. Nothing untoward had happen during the night, at least not that he was aware of. They had received a call from Sophie at around nine to tell them to meet her at the pub. They were all there when she arrived. She walked into the pub alone with no sign of Nate.

Parker, Hardison and Eliot's anxiety levels suddenly shot up at the absence of the Mastermind.

"Where's Nate…?" Parker immediately asked a note of concern in her voice.

"He'll be along shortly…" Sophie said looking at the three and then smiling. "Oh don't worry I didn't kill him." She said and although it was said in a joking manner they could tell she was hurt by their assumption that because Nate was not with her she had done something to him.

"I didn't mean…"

"Yes you did Parker, and I don't really blame you. Last night was the first night I was alone with Nate and I understand." She said then turned toward Eliot. "I hope the car wasn't too uncomfortable."

Eliot did not respond. There was nothing to say. How the hell had the woman known he was in the car outside her apartment anyway?

"Oh I didn't know Eliot…Nate told me, and don't ask me how he knew." Sophie said sitting down at the table after pouring herself a cup of steaming hot tea.

"So where is he?" Hardison asked as he sat alongside Parker.

"I don't know. He told me to get you all together here and to make sure we were here by nine am sharp." She said looking at her watch. "He's late…"

"Sorry about that…" Nate said making his entrance as she spoke and walking up to the table. He leaned in and gave her a kiss and then sat down next to her.

"What's this about Nate?" Eliot asked finally taking his seat at the table.

"Well Eliot, it's about family. Our family. This family." Nate said looking around the table. "In the last three weeks I nearly died twice. Actually I think I did die at least once…" He said knotting his brows in thought. "Anyway, that experience made me realise something. First and foremost, you people have come to mean more to me than I can ever tell you. You are my family, my only family. I don't ever want you to forget that, but after the last few weeks events I also don't want to leave it unsaid." He said softly he did not add the 'if I should die unexpectedly' part, he thought that was self-evident. "Secondly…" He said then moved off the chair and on one knee before Sophie. "I realised just how much I love you Sophie Devereaux, or whatever your real name is. To me you will always be Sophie, my Sophie…I love you so much and I never want to lose you." Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small jewellery box. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you Sophie…if you are willing to be with this old…" He was interrupted in his speech as Sophie lent in and captured his lips effectively silencing him.

"Yes…" She said pulling away from him and holding out her hand showing the ring she had placed on it. "Oh it's beautiful Nate…" She said admiring the ring and showing it to the other three.

"Glad you like it…" Nate said as he tried to get himself up off the floor. Sophie smiled at him and gave him a hand to get seated again at the table.

"What happened last night…?" Eliot muttered under his breath. He had not seen this coming, maybe a little way down the line, but now…

"What…?" Nate asked the Hitter.

"Nothing..." Eliot said smiling at the Mastermind.

"He wanted to know what happened last night…" Parker said repeated Eliot's question, she also wanted to know why Nate had suddenly proposed to Sophie out of the blue.

"Nothing…well nothing you need to know about." He smiled knowingly at Sophie.

"Ok…well can I be a bridesmaid…" Parker asked happily. It did not matter why, it was just good and she was going to go with that.

"I'm the best man…" Eliot said looking at Nate for confirmation.

"No way bro… I'm the best man…" Hardison said adamantly.

Nate smiled at all of them as playful arguments broke out. He reached out and took Sophie's hand as they joined in the debate of the where's and how's and who's of the impending nuptials.

**I know very silly ending, but I was inspired by the season (yes I know I just refuse to believe it is the end of the series) finale and thought that something like this near death experience would bring Nate to ask Sophie to marry him. I hope you all enjoyed the story and that you will leave me lots of reviews. Thank you to Stella, Sphinx, Carebear818, huttonfan, leveragus, JustBecause2012, february28 and everybody else who has taken the time and effort to review the story after each chapter. I cannot tell you how your reviews inspire me to continue writing. Please feel free to give some suggestions as to what my new stories could be about. I would like to try something other than what I usually write but am not sure what. All suggestions would be greatly appreciated.**


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